What Is The Zeitgeist - Part I

THE ZEITGEIST MEMORANDUM This is a global memorandum for those who seek societal transformation and a future that is defined by hope. If what is written below appeals to your intellect and intuition you may forward this memorandum to other like minded people.

Part I

What is the Zeitgeist? It is something everyone breathes. Something everyone is in . . . like a fog it obscures our vision. Until we are awakened we live with the delusion that we are immune to it. We think we are in control. We think we are autonomous. But this is only because we have forgotten. We have forgotten history and have forgotten to listen to the wisdom of the past . . . to our ancestors. They too were in it. And yet some enlightened souls saw through the veil. Ever since humans began to think beyond immediate needs, we have tried to transcend the Zeitgeist. For better or for worse, it can cause us to believe and act in certain ways. Sadly, we forget that each individual has power. Everyone has a choice. We can choose to follow the Zeitgeist blindly or we can choose to transcend it. We can go about living in our semi-conscious state by allowing others to think for us and be myopic and apathetic OR we can choose to transcend the Zeitgeist. WHAT IS THE ZEITGEIST? Every era, like every person, has its own personality. This is the Zeitgeist. It is not an esoteric concept. It is a simple word yet a very descriptive word that anyone can understand. The German word Zeitgeist (often capitalized and italicized) is comprised of two German words: zeit meaning “time” and geist meaning “spirit”. The word denotes the spirit of a particular age . . . the milieu of a society or era.

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With hindsight we can understand the personality of any given era . . . what it did right . . . where it went wrong . . . and the people (influencers) who shaped it, for better or for worse. Whether it was the Zeitgeist of the 1960’s, the Renaissance or the Zeitgeist of pre-Nazi Germany, behind every era are people of influence who affect the masses and thereby define the personality of any era (e.g., musicians, poets, novelists, authors, philosophers, essayists, movie directors, etc.). Consider your own personality. It was partly shaped by your genetic makeup but ALSO by your parents. What parents are to children, influencers are to the Zeitgeist. Not only is every person shaped and moulded by their parents but also by their culture, by the Zeitgeist. We are a product of our times, that is to say, we are a product of the Zeitgeist. Just as our parents can affect the way we think so too does the Zeitgeist affect the way we think and act. Our parents instil in us certain values and ideas and these ideas become part of our belief system, likewise with the Zeitgeist. The problem is, when we are IN the Zeitgeist we are often not fully aware of its manifestations; how it affects us and how it directs the future . . . sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Consider, for example, how one particular Zeitgeist in North America promoted the ‘idea’ that woman were inferior to men. In fact, the Zeitgeist went so far as to say that woman were not “persons”. To affect the Zeitgeist all it takes is one person to act as a catalyst. A Canadian woman, for example, by the name of Emily Murphy sought to be a Senator; however, she was unable to. Why? Because she was a woman. Recall the words of America’s third President, Thomas Jefferson: “The appointment of a woman to office is an innovation for which the public is not prepared, nor am I.” Remember, the Zeitgeist of that time said (according to the British North American Act) women were not allowed to vote because they were legally not “persons” therefore a woman could not be Senator. Murphy’s motion to overturn this ‘idea’ – to overturn this one facet of 2

the Zeitgeist – became known as the “Person’s Case”. The most important constitutional case in Canadian history. Her motion was denied by the Canadian Supreme Court. In deviance, she courageously sailed to England in 1929 to appear before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of the British Empire, which at that time was Canada’s final court of appeal. Emily Murphy did not, like most of us, resign herself to the Zeitgeist. She saw through its veil and awoke. As a result, she challenged it and won. Five years later the Prime Minister of Canada, Mackenzie King, appointed the first female Senator. Unfortunately, it was not Emily Murphy. It should be noted, however, that Murphy was the first female magistrate in the British Empire. Ideas have consequences. Ideas are created by people. And ideas, for better or worse, shape the Zeitgeist. It was people of influence who moulded the Zeitgeist of Emily Murphy’s era and because most people are followers they uncritically accepted that woman were inferior. We should not be so foolish or arrogant to believe that today we are so much wiser than the past. Everyone, from time to time, needs to be awakened from his or her ideological slumber. Sometimes when influencers communicate their ideas they become ideologies. Ideologies affect how we think and as a result how we behave. For this reason, influencers have grave responsibilities. Their ideas will live on long after they die and potentially affect future generations. Consider, for example, people like Aristotle, Darwin, Marx, Gandhi, Hitler, and Martin Luther King, etc. These are people who, in one way or another, affected the masses and moulded the Zeitgeist (the ethos and milieu) of their era. With hindsight, it is easy to understand past Zeitgeists like the 1960’s, for instance. Because we have hindsight we can see how certain people’s ideas, namely, influencers, affected the masses and thereby defined the Zeitgeist of the 1960’s. Ideas can be very powerful. And because ideas can change how people think, ideas can effect how people act. If we were to closely examine the 1960’s we could connect 3

the dots, as it were, of those people who ‘created’ what we now call the Zeitgeist of the 1960’s. For example Michael Lang, the co-creator of Woodstock; Musicians like The Beatles, The Doors, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, & Jodi Mitchell; Intellectuals like Isaac Asimov, Noam Chomsky, Carl Sagan, Jean-Paul Sartre, & Alan Watts; Activists like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Mario Savio, Gloria Steinem, & Abbie Hoffman; Directors/Producers like Ingmar Bergman, Woody Allen, Michelangelo Antonioni, & Dennis Hopper; Artists like Peter Blake, Bridget Riley, Sol LeWitt, & James Rosenquist; Poets like Robert Frost and Basil Bunting; Authors like William Faulkner, Truman Capote, Jules Ralph Feiffer, Louise Fitzhugh; John Steinbeck, & Betty Friedan; Playwrights like Joseph Heller, Gore Vidal, &Tom Stoppard; Religious Leaders like Pope John XXIII, Paramahamsa Yogananda, Billy Graham, Franklin Merrell-Wolff, Irina Tweedie, Sri Aurobindo, & Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. This list of course is not exhaustive, but it at least illustrates how people’s ideas influence the masses and create what is known at the Zeitgeist. In short, ideas have consequences and actions are born from ideas and ideas/ideologies are generated by influencers. If we are aware of the current Zeitgeist then we can, with foresight, predict how the future will unfold. If we can operate with foresight then we could curb noxious ideologies. That is to say, harmful ideas of TODAY that can have negative ripple effects into the future. Since every particular age is cultivated by people of influence such people dictate the Zeitgeist and yet it is the masses who give power to influencers. For this reason, every person, like Emily Murphy, has power. Every person is like a drop of water and contributes to the vast ocean of our existence. And every person is like a word on a page . . . carefully placed by the dictates of grammar . . . the unforeseen laws of nature. As each page of history is turned by the wind of change it bears the weight of humanity’s theme. Although the plot of every era is different, the fine balance between life and death remains the same.

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Every person, one way or another, is framed by the Zeitgeist. We are all IN it. The question is, are we able to transcend it? Are we able to see it with our own eyes? Do we want to be preventive so that the future is one of hope and not destructive? Will we redeem our short existence by striving for what the ancient Greeks called areté (i.e., the drive for excellence/virtue) and attempt to reach our potential? It is everyone’s desire that as we get older we become wiser and learn from our mistakes (hindsight) in hope that we may operate with foresight. Reaching our potential and knowing ourself is not easy and yet this effort far exceeds the rewards of becoming whole and living in harmony. Just as it is difficult to know yourself, it is also difficult to grasp the Zeitgeist when you are in it. When we reflect on our personal history we often say, “I wish I knew then what I know now.” This is the advantage of hindsight. What if we could apply hindsight to the future? This is foresight. If we are wise and prudent, then foresight operates like hindsight but of course foresight looks forward. Foresight allows us to live with less regrets because we are able to ‘see’ the future if we continue on our current path. Unfortunately, all too often we want short term solutions to problems plaguing society. If we truly want societal transformation; if we truly desire a future that is defined by hope, then should we not give heeds to the reigning Zeitgeist? Understand it? Listen to it? And wonder, given the current Zeitgeist, what will the future Zeitgeist look like? The future is ours to write. We cannot erase the past. We only have today. What we do today will define the future. And although the plot may change, the theme is always the same.

We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring 5

Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. Through the unknown, unremembered gate When the last of earth left to discover Is that which was the beginning; At the source of the longest river The voice of the hidden waterfall And the children in the apple-tree Not known, because not looked for But heard, half-heard, in the stillness ~ T. S Eliot, Four Quartets

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THE ZEITGEIST MEMORANDUM PART II www.zeitgeistproject.org Malcolm CC Armstrong, PhD

A Global Call to Action – The Zeitgeist Initiative SUMMARY STATEMENT Inequality and injustice is often a result of the lust for power and noxious ideologies. This breeds arrogance and consequently can cause unforgivable calamities. The Zeitgeist Project desires to be a bridge between the chasms of opposing camps and those unforeseen causes (viz., ideas). It believes that authentic dialogue amongst influencers can be an important means to help ensure the Zeitgeist of the future is defined by hope. In other words, empathic dialogue can itself be efficacious in generating a Zeitgeist of equality, justice, and peace. Organic change, in a spirit of equanimity, is possible by raising the consciousness and conscience of society. For this reason, the Zeitgeist Project is arranging the first Zeitgeist Assembly where people who influence society artistically, spiritually, and intellectually will gather to address the State of the Zeitgeist. The issue which they will address is the following: given the current Zeitgeist what will the future Zeitgeist look like? Imagine what a critical mass of influencers could generate? The Zeitgeist Assembly hopes to inspire foresight, hope, and what the ancient Greeks called arete (the ability to reach our potential). There are many positive aspects of the Zeitgeist, however, we are always on the brink of either devolving or evolving. Issues inflicting the Zeitgeist cannot be addressed exclusively within the realm of philanthropy, which primarily deals with effects. By exclusively treating effects this means dependency for recipients. Consequently, the original issue being addressed becomes epidemic and cyclical. For this reason, the Zeitgeist Project seeks to redress issues as opposed to only addressing them. The Zeitgeist Project is, of course, not a panacea, however, it will play a critical role on the international stage. It will speak to a concern that has lingered across the ages. A concern that has inspired poets, philosophers and artists. A concern that transcends all ideologies and cultures . . . what does it mean to be human in the face of our mortality? This is what has always and will forever define the Zeitgeist.

A pathologist is one who studies the nature of disease and its causes, development, and consequences. A psychologist is one who is concerned with the well-being of an individual and assists one in becoming whole. The Zeitgeist Project has similar concerns except it is concerned with the collective psyche; with society at large and in understanding potential psyche/spiritual ‘diseases’ that may inflict society. In particular, it is concerned with how the future will unfold given the current Zeitgeist. It seeks to anticipate and prevent a future 7

Zeitgeist that might be destructive. How? To encourage dialogue amongst people of influence and thereby discover how the Zeitgeist is affecting us and ask how influencers are shaping the growth or decline of the Zeitgeist. The Zeitgeist Project recognizes the great potential in humans to create a Zeitgeist of harmony; for people to live with hope and for each person to realize that his or her life is significant. Consider how the Zeitgeist is analogous to one’s own body. How we treat our body will determine how long we live. How we feed our minds will determine the quality of our lives. Likewise, the life span of humanity is determinative on the Zeitgeist. This is because the Zeitgeist represents the heartbeat and soul of any society and given globalization it will affect how we collectively evolve. If you look at world history and compare it to today we have in many ways collectively matured, but of course we still face many challenges. What complicates matters further is that we are always on the verge of devolving. We are not always consciously in pursuit of what the Greeks called arete . . . the notion of striving for excellence/virtue in the attempt to reach our potential. And since the Zeitgeist tends to be fragile and fickle, not unlike ourselves, the Zeitgeist has the potential to perform unthinkable evils. If you think about the Zeitgeist, the collective personality of a nation, it operates in a very similar way as an individual. The Zeitgeist operates at the macro level while individuals operate at the micro level. They are mirror images of each other. Another function of the Zeitgeist Project is to have an impact on philanthropy. Philanthropy attempts to correct injustices in society and increase the well-being of humanity. Unfortunately, there does not exist a balanced approach to philanthropy which currently focuses its attention on addressing the micro level of our existence. If we want societal transformation then we must also be concerned about the macro level (i.e., the Zeitgeist).

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Every era attaches on to something. Often the Zeitgeist is reactionary and will rally around a particular cause. For example, the ‘cause’ a few decades ago was overpopulation, now it is the environment. On a much more fundamental level, it could be argued that what has always driven the Zeitgeist is one of the most basic of all human desires. It is a desire that has many manifestations like the desire for power, fame, money or popularity, etc. It is a desire everyone shares . . . a desire that defines humanity. What unifies people of all races is not simply our anatomical and physiological attributes, but also the fact that we are all desire the same thing. As we mature, we begin to wake up and ask more of life . . . ask more of our ephemeral existence. We desire a WILL TO LIVE in the midst of suffering, paradox and contradictions. We want to justify our existence. We humans, unlike animals (who only follow their instincts), are always trying to make sense of things. The most common question, for example, of child is . . . “Why?” This universal desire to find a “will to live” often divides us because we have different ‘answers’ to what each person defines to be his or her raison d’etre. As a result, different Zeitgeists have emerged throughout the ages. Understanding past Zeitgeists is far easier than grasping our current Zeitgeist. Why? Because we are IN it. The question is, do we want to lift the veil of the Zeitgeist. It has for better or worse matured, but has it lost its innocence forever? Can we go back? Do we want to go back? Too often, we not only LIVE vicariously but also BELIEVE vicariously and allow the Zeitgeist to control us. If we could appropriate our ephemeral natural and our common angst in find a will to live within our fragmented existence we might realize how it is possible to transcend the Zeitgeist. However, as history demonstrates again and again and again . . . most of us are not courageous to lift its veil. Instead, we become resigned. Eventually we loose hope. Why? Because we forget we have power to impact the Zeitgeist. We forget we can contribute to the whole by being part of humanity’s collective growth like Emily Murphy. 9

Today it appears that we have entered an “event horizon” and life has become like listening to an orchestra tune up. Sometimes it seems that we have everything to live with but nothing to live for. In physics an event horizon is the area surrounding a black hole where time essentially stands still and what happens next is anyone’s guess. Never before has the Zeitgeist become global and never before has it reached the potential to collapse in on itself. In the last 200 years, humanity has experienced unprecedented change. It is debatable whether we have paused long enough to generate enough foresight to ensure that the future is what we envision it to be. Perhaps, as the religious studies scholar Huston Smith observes, “We have withdrawn ourselves so that we have as little emotional attachment to the world as possible. What we see is not very comforting. We find it far simpler to not be engaged with the outside world.” Regrettably, there appears to be little concern about the Zeitgeist. We tend to want short-term solutions. Look at the world of philanthropy, for example. Most philanthropy, as well as a lot time, money and resources go towards stop-gap measures (i.e., band-aid solutions). In other words, much of the philanthropic world address issues as opposed to redressing problems. Philanthropy tends to treat the effect and not the cause of issues. This means all the good that philanthropy does do will have to be addressed again the following year. In other words, philanthropy is cyclical in nature. It is being proffered that equal amount of time must be spent redressing issues so that we may be preventive and remedy the causes of oppression, suffering, injustice, apathy or anomie.§ What if we could operate with foresight, instead of waiting until it is too late to act? Ideas have a domino effect and can spread like a virus . . . and some ideas, once they gain momentum, can take centuries to contain and overcome. What ideas TODAY are being generated that will have dire consequences for the future? §

Anomie was coined by the French sociologist Emile Durkheim to express the idea of social instability caused by steady erosion of values and a sense of alienation and purposelessness experienced by a person or a society.

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What if leading influencers could gather to discuss what the future Zeitgeist will look like given current trends? What if influencers made a conscious effort to use their influence to advance civilization? This is what the Zeitgeist Project is all about in its goal to orchestrate the first Zeitgeist Assembly . . . a bi-decade assembly where a nation’s and then world’s leading influencers gather to understand the current Zeitgeist, how we are being affecting by it and how we can move forward to ensure that we do not create a degenerate future. A critical mass of influencers could generate enough foresight so that we could “see” the future. Although we cannot predict with 100% accuracy what the future will look like, this does not mean we should not try to direct its path. What will come out of the Zeitgeist Assembly? It is believed that empathy, dialogue, awareness and the sharing of ideas are essential components to initialize change especially if those dialoguing are the most influential people of a nation or the world. From the Assembly a summary will be generated called the Zeitgeist Report. This report will serve to disseminate what is discussed at the Assemblies. The report will also be published on the internet to allow people from all over the world to comment on the Zeitgeist Assembly and the insights it generates. The Zeitgeist Report will also be distributed to policy makers, artists, government officials, think-tanks, the media, educators, and the UN, etc. We can choose to let the future take its course OR we can choose to sculpt it. If we want the future to be defined by hope then this requires that we move forward cautiously. What we do today can redeem the past. What we do today can ensure that all our striving will not be for not . . . that what we think IS good does not END like Mary Shelley’s provocative and revealing novel Frankenstein.

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As we reflect on our own mistakes, we readily admit we have made decisions in haste. Society is no different. We must not let the Zeitgeist go unchecked. TODAY we must concern ourselves with much larger issues. Issues like harmful ideologies which affect how we think and thereby how we act. We must not ONLY be concerned about extending our mortality but the mortality of civilization. If we want societal transformation then we must start thinking organically as opposed to stop gap measures. The future is ours to shape, but this depends on every single human being playing their part. As Shakespeare uttered, “All the world's a stage/And all the men and women [are] players/They have their exits and their entrances. . . .” If we do nothing the Zeitgeist will continue to control us or worse destroy us. Remaining neutral is no longer an option given globalization. We must attempt to lift the veil of the Zeitgeist and break free of its grip so that we can begin to operate with FORESIGHT and HOPE in pursuit of ARETE. Every effect has a cause. How we THINK today and what we to DO today will have ripple effects into the future. The Zeitgeist Project seeks to operate like a catalyst by causing people to be increasingly conscious of the reigning Zeitgeist and the myriad ways it affects us. We can choose to capitulate to the Zeitgeist, compromise our integrity and believe vicariously OR as Shakespeare penned we can, take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;

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To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause . . . Since the Zeitgeist is the character of any given era it can either devolve or evolve over time. Collectively we are always on the verge of evolving or devolving. By bringing together those people who impact the Zeitgeist this initiative called the ZEITGEIST PROJECT seeks to influence influencers and empower people to rise above the “heartache” that Shakespeare speaks of and reach our potential (arete). See PART II: A GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION www.zeitgeistproject.org

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