Re: virus: [Fwd: Asking for help and support]

Eric Boyd (6ceb3@qlink.queensu.ca)
Wed, 27 Aug 1997 02:11:54 -0500


> Subject: Asking for help and support
> Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 10:27:53 +0700
> From: "Pinatra T." <lify@usa.net>

> Due to the fact that the lack of self-esteem and emotional education for
> today's youngsters have already led our society to many social problems,
> I wonder if we can do something to overcome this.
>
> I have an idea: Why don't we found an international non-profit
> organization which will fullfil its mission to build self-esteem and
> provide emotional education among young people. For simplification
> purpose, just called it Life Institute for Youth (LIFY) at this moment.

I see no reason to found an *intellectual* institute dedicated to
*subjective* matters. Why not found a Church; a religion; instead? For
that is their province. Remember -- Spirituality is Subjective.

> LIFY will have a branch in every major city around the world and will
> provide one-year education for young people. Such kind of education will
> be optional for them, but hopefully every high school student will
> attend this program for their own sake. Maybe they have to pay, but it
> is not going to be an expensive education.

A Church can run concurrent to the high school education, and of course
is funded by donations to the Church.

> I already have a concept for such kind of education: The education will
> be divided into two sessions:
<snip good ideas>

I thought once upon a time about an educational institute similar to
that proposed here. I was thinking more along the lines of a double
education... one in "high tech" concurrent with one in "physical
strengh". "The Digital Crusader University". I decided that such a
thing was just not the right way to do it, however. It languagished in
my brain, no one ever having heard about it.

We cannot learn objectivly about subjectivity and have it *mean*
anything.

This is obviously why you have the nine months "out in the field"
education. A good idea...

But I still think that the real way to go is through a spiritual
journey. The Church could address the issue you pointed out --
(leadership, relaxation, thinking, public speaking, etc.) -- and indeed
give "students" ("members") an opportunity to practice those skills.
For I think the best way to run said Church is to let the members do
it. Somebody starts the orginization, and a structure ("pattern") is
set up. This structure exists to bind (the word religion comes from the
Latin "religare" which means to tie back, to fasten, or to bind) the
individual to the "meta-meme" of the orginization. Then, the memetic
construct ("organization"[1]) propagates itself by enlisting the members
to keep itself alive. As long as one key feature -- *conscious* control
of meme's -- remains, the organization will always serve us, rather than
the other way around.

Dangerous, I know. But then: nothing ventured, nothing gained.

ERiC;
http://qlink.queensu.ca/~6ceb3/Church/

[1] I've decided that all orginizations, business, clubs, groups, etc.
are really nothing more than memetic constructs. For if the memes
aren't what an organization is, what is it? Not a building -- companies
move. Not people -- they change with time. Not product -- this too is
fickle. No, an orginization is nothing more than a self sustaining
memetic construct.

Awareness of this would change everything. Conscious control -- whereby
we insure that the "organization" serves out purposes rather than merely
sustains itself (... ie. the bottom line! ...) -- is the key.

(BTW Tim: I know this is echoing what somebody said here about a week
ago. It's just crystalized in my mind now, and it's SO KEWL! Memetics
really *is* going to change how we view the world, E-Prime be damned!)

BTW2: I'm decided to join R. Brodie and J. Redfield as a Champion of
"Awareness". Oh, and I've seriously thought about calling myself a
"priest"! :-)