“Hello Future, the World in 2035”
In contrast to works like Future Shock and The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler, exploring how social change and technology reshape society, Morris takes on a universal approach to our modern dilemmas.
I was recently requested to write a book review by Langdon Morris. Langdon is recognized globally as one of the top thinkers, consultants, and authors on innovation and strategy.
If you are a futurist enthusiast like me, you will find this introduction instructive and uplifting. I placed a link below for you to check it out.
“Hello Future, the World in 2035”
“Hello Future, the World in 2035” by Langdon Morris is compelling, thought-provoking, and brilliantly avant-garde! Simply put, Morris has masterfully performed a deep and objective historical analysis of where we are as a civilization and how we got there over the centuries.
More eloquently, Morris takes a sobering dive into our global consciousness. Speaking metaphorically, he attempts a fearless psychoanalysis of our collective “progressivist” character.
All the tough but necessary questions are poignantly posed, now and from the future. This book abounds with profound insights into the inner workings of our cultures in their pivotal dimensions about our future.
Morris paints a comprehensive picture of the key challenges confronting us. He elegantly prompts the reader to ponder critical existential questions. Are we in a process of transcendence and awakening or is the bitter end of our humanity surely approaching? What were leading nations dreaming of becoming a hundred years ago or more? Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, the USA? How far from their hopes and speculations are they now? Empires have fallen, but so have civilizations.
In contrast to works like Future Shock and The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler, exploring how social change and technology reshape society, Morris takes on a universal approach to our modern dilemmas. He attempts to educate the reader on “how” to think about the future.
“Hello Future, the World in 2035”, is well-stocked with suggestive quotes. One by anthropologist Edward T. Hall resonates: “The future depends on humanity’s ability to transcend the limits of individual cultures.”
This book is a must-read, NOW! It delves into every aspect and concern affecting individuals, families, and organizations today: from wars and revolutions to world economy, politics, climate change, demographics, energy, technology, artificial intelligence, cultural identities, and geopolitics.
Instead of skirting around the issues, it bravely asks: where are we headed? As a reader, I ask myself if a collective awakening is possible. Can we attain a true transformation of our human emotional spirit? Is it increasingly apparent that we are being nudged into retirement by some divine force or fate?
Do we truly hold the reins of our destiny? Was Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism merely a reactionary stance? When faced with emptiness and meaninglessness, do we react by conjuring up notions of free will and shouldering the weight of total responsibility for our fates, whether out of fear, guilt, or newfound energy? If we’re alone in this vast universe, do we become, in essence, our own gods? Are we genuinely accountable for our actions and their repercussions?
In the 1880s, Friedrich Nietzsche famously proclaimed “God is dead” in the chapter “The Madman” of “Thus Spoke Zarathustra.” Does civilization find meaning in the will to power, blind faith in a divine entity, or nothingness? Echoing the chilling inquiry of philosopher Martin Heidegger in his revolutionary book “Being and Time” (1927), “Why does being exist instead of nothing?” What is the meaning of our triumph over nature and our ancestral fears in 2024?
American writer Joseph Campbell, in his famous television series “The Power of Myths”, and his book “Myths to Live By”, expressed his conviction that man is not searching for the meaning of life; but rather “seeking an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”
Are we losing touch with this “rapture”? Were we ever in contact with it? Are we witnessing the loss of absolute, universal moral truths and the final collapse of traditional religious authority? Nietzsche was not necessarily celebrating the death of God; rather, he was warning humanity of the likely consequences of societies without a firm moral foundation. If life is devoid of purpose or intent (no God), does it entail that we are free to do whatever we desire? Well, here we are, arriving at this odd crossroads!
Is a mutation underway? From my perspective, Morris emerges as a modern-day Roland, King Charlemagne’s devoted soldier, who desperately sounded the alarm to save his king and army. Roland blew his horn so hard that his temples burst.
Taking on a more esoteric or philosophically Eastern perspective, the universe, including ourselves, is hurtling through space at an astonishing speed. According to data from the CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background, primeval radiation emitted shortly after the Big Bang), the universe expands at approximately 41.9 miles (67.5 kilometers) per second per megaparsec, equivalent to 3.26 million light-years.
As the cosmos expands, we are essentially travelers in space. I am a futurism enthusiast. If intergalactic travel technology were available, bringing a copy of Langdon Morris’s book for the journey would be smart. Encountering another species along the way, we could confidently share our human experience and the events that have shaped our civilization for the past 10,000 years.
In “Hello Future, the World in 2035”, Langdon Morris invites us to expand our consciousness and courageously become global citizens, in thought and action.
Additional Comments
At any given moment, we sense and intuit the world around us. So many things such as earthquakes, acts of violence, suicides, hurricanes, wars, and sudden conflicts, are beyond our control. But our responses to these events aren’t unavailable.
Morris doesn’t just prompt reflection; he compels us to ponder the state and future of our world. My contemplation led me back down on the mundane plane. At the end of every day, there is what happened, what we thought, what we did, what others did to us, what decisions we made and on what basis (whoever we are), what we said or heard others say to us, and what we felt or witnessed others go through emotionally. The list also includes what we thought of doing and did not do, what we felt and did not share, what someone shared but we ignored, what we postponed, withheld, condemned, denied, concealed, etc.
Today’s issues ignite sensitivity, and division without debate is the new trend. Morris warns us about strongly held opinions: “We also tend to attribute causality according to our beliefs and biases. They are likely to distort our perspectives. Further, many of these issues are highly charged — the outrage factor comes into play — so it’s prudent to be cautious in our judgments.”
How aware is our collective? Not to purposely exercise pessimism as the natural binary to hope, can we authentically speak of a collective “aware consciousness?” Thus, while collective consciousness might be an aspirational concept, it is the mutative thinking of individuals that truly drives societal evolution.
From the steam engine pioneered by James Watt to the telegraph developed by Samuel Morse, these advancements reshaped the landscape of human civilization. They propelled humanity into a new era of prosperity and innovation.
While the idea of a collective consciousness might suggest a shared level of awareness and intent among society, history often shows that significant leaps in progress are driven by the bold, transformative ideas of individuals. These pioneers challenge the status quo, introduce new paradigms, and catalyze widespread change. Have we ever seen a group or a tribe create a significant change in society without the input of individuals who lead the way? This is also true in music, art, philosophy, new-age psychology, personal transformation technologies, science, and literature.
Figures like Andreas Vesalius revolutionized anatomical understanding through meticulous dissections and anatomical illustrations, laying the groundwork for modern medical science. Technological innovations such as Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press, which emerged in the 15th century, facilitated the dissemination of knowledge on an unprecedented scale, catalyzing the spread of ideas and paving the way for the scientific revolution of the following centuries.
Conversely, tribes (families), or tribal rule, keep things stable and “real” (it’s about survival, traditional values, and clinging to the past). The tribe insists on keeping things as they are. The late 18th and early 19th centuries saw rapid technological advancements transforming agrarian economies into industrial ones. It results in denial of progress and slows down evolution.
As an example and despite overwhelming scientific evidence, certain political and economic groups resist acknowledging and addressing climate change. These groups, often tied to conservative ideologies, fear economic and social changes, and slow down the implementation of crucial environmental policies and technologies. Psychological studies show that humans have an inherent fear of the unknown and a preference for familiar habits. This fear manifests in societal groups clinging to established norms and resisting innovative changes. It creates a cultural inertia that can be difficult to overcome, delaying societal progress and adaptation.
Innovation and inventions come through individual efforts. Similarly, the collective, what we call society, doesn’t accept new things as easily, but much faster than the tribe.
New directions, new ideas, and thoughts unanimously come from individuals. Galileo, Einstein, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Gutenberg, Jesus, Buddha, Edison, Karl Benz, Marie Curie, Mozart, Alexander Graham Bell, Pasteur, Mother Theresa, etc. In the esoteric and spiritual realms, we see the same pattern of individual influence leading to profound shifts in collective thought and consciousness:
Rumi: The Persian poet and Sufi mystic whose profound writings and teachings on love and the divine have transcended centuries, influencing spiritual thought worldwide.
Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh): A controversial spiritual leader whose teachings challenged traditional religious and social norms, advocating for a more open, self-exploratory approach to spirituality and consciousness.
Alan Watts: Alan Watts is celebrated for his ability to make complex Eastern philosophies, particularly Zen Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism, accessible to Western audiences. His engaging writing and speaking style demystified these traditions, helping to bridge cultural and philosophical gaps.
Madame Blavatsky: A co-founder of the Theosophical Society, she played a crucial role in bringing Eastern philosophies to the West and shaping modern spiritual and esoteric thought.
G.I. Gurdjieff: A mystic and spiritual teacher whose teachings on self-awareness and the nature of consciousness have had a lasting impact on Western esoteric traditions.
Carl Jung: While primarily known for his contributions to psychology, Jung’s exploration of archetypes, the collective unconscious, and synchronicity have deeply influenced spiritual and esoteric thinking.
Sri Aurobindo: An Indian philosopher, yogi, and poet whose integral yoga philosophy seeks to unite the material and spiritual worlds, influencing both spiritual and philosophical thought.
These individuals, through their pioneering thoughts and actions, have significantly reshaped spiritual and esoteric paradigms, just as innovators in science, art, and technology have done in their respective fields.
Innovation and new directions in society consistently stem from the transformative ideas of individuals, whether in science, art, or spirituality. While the collective often resists change initially, it eventually embraces these innovations more readily than smaller, tightly-knit tribal groups. This dynamic underscores the critical role of individual visionaries in driving progress and evolution across all domains of human experience.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Husband | Performance & Leadership Coach | Visual Artist & Author |
Note: all my writings should be read with a critical eye and perspective. A dose of humor will not hurt either. They are essays in intuitive awareness, offered as musings. Sometimes, I aim to provoke the spirit and to inspire new ways of seeing and thinking.
Science uses intuition to establish new paths of inquiry to advance possible theories. I favor a metaphysical exploration through my intuition rather than fit-all reasoning. The ultimate aim is to help people’s spirits genuinely relax and enjoy the show they are the star of.
My Spirit has Ways of Seeing that my Mind cannot Comprehend.
Some Food for thought:
In personal growth & development, great outcomes come from authentic shifts in perspective! My work as a mentor is to catalyze awareness and empower creative thinking. It leads to personal power and effectiveness.
“If you ain’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes.”
Whether we know it or not, every decision in business or life is a direction. Hence, it is our choices that determine the quality of our experiences.
Regardless of what shows up, the ultimate navigational system is our instincts, intuition, emotional awareness, and intelligence.
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