Technological Efficiency: The Death Knell of the Human Spirit

In the past Two decades or so, the human species has become absolutely obsessed with advances in technology. There is a pervasive (and utterly nonsensical) idea that increases in technology will somehow resolve the problems of the human race. 

Einstein, a well recognizied figure in scientific literature, would disagree, being of the opinion that “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them”. If a human is insanely materialistic, then increases in efficiency will do no more than support exponentially insane materialism. 

I first noticed this insane materialism while using Amazon. It seemed great at the start. Prime next day delivery was awesome, and still is in, many ways. But as I piled up more and more pointless materials that I thought I needed, year upon year, I started to wise up a little. There was something wrong about simply buying everything that I needed on Amazon. Something off about having anything you wanted right at the end of your fingertips, just a few clicks away. 

And that something was that the human Spirit was being disregarded in lieu of convenience. We all know that the best human qualities comes from a lifetime of dedication to particular art or craft - Yoga, Meditation, Martial Arts, Art, Farming, Trades, etc. Quick gratification offers convenience and ease, but takes more than it grants. There is a reason why people who win the lottery quickly lose it all. They have not built up the qualities to sustain the wealth. 

If you have been baking bread for the past 20 years, rest assured that the practice molded you as surely as you kneaded the dough. The same is true for any practice. What, you might be asking, does this have to do with technological efficiency and the human Spirit?

Well, the entire purpose of this 3D continuum is that the human soul learns through its own effort. It gains competence and confidence. There is something holy, natural, and divine about doing things for a long period of time and gaining wisdom (not data or knowledge).

You cannot buy this quality. It cannot be replicated. Because it is organic and comes from the Spirit. It is not mechanical. Consider that you imbue each material item with your own energy when you put your attention on it. If these exact same words were created by a machine or algorithm, they would not have the same effect on you. 

I am not anti-technology by any means, but it has to be used appropriately. It enables incompetence and laziness, if you let it. If you don’t have a mindfulness or meditation practice in place, it might be time to rethink. Otherwise, it will be easy to fall prey to the oncoming glamors of the technological era. AI. Virtual Reality. Biological Augmentations. Printed Houses. Poison masquerading as honey, to those in the know. 

And so, I have undertaken a life of empowerment, as much as possible. We all rely on machines and I type this on a 2019 Mac. But I am seeking to gain as much competence as I can. 

While baking sourdough bread and making my own toothpaste and shaving foam might not be enough to take down Amazon, it’s enough to give me a start so I can extend competence to as many different fields as possible. 

The more time it takes, the better the rewards will be. Not something you hear everyday in a world where people will nearly have a mental breakdown if they are kept waiting longer than 60 seconds. 

It’s time to start respecting the Spirit more and time to adopt a long-term approach instead of instant (or ‘Next Day’) gratification.