The Future of Religion in 5 Minutes

I was recently asked to prepare a five-minute talk on “The Future of Religion.”

I thought five minutes would be easy, compared to the 30-minute talks or 90-minute workshops I’ve led. I was surprised to learn that the shorter the presentation, the more difficult it becomes.

Ignite Tampa Bay forced me to refine things I have been teaching and talking about for years. It encouraged me to make my language more accessible and less academic. It is probably the talk I’ve given that I’ve learned the most from.

Below is the video and full transcript. I owe a huge thank you to Matthew Fox, Stephen Prothero, and Ken Wilber who inspired portions of this talk.

We’re told not to talk about sex, politics, or religion.

Extra Sensory Plug-ins: Mind-Based Apps for the 22nd Century

WELCOME TO QUANTUM E.S.P.
(EXTRA SENSORY PLUG-INS)
————————————————————

E.S.P is the next step in Quantum Microtubule Integration.
Choose from any of these augmented reality bio-apps and say goodbye to metal and glass forever!

NAVIGATION
Now you really can be the compass! Go anywhere on the planet and never get lost again. Comes loaded with street, birds-eye and global views. No more lenses or GPS devices, simply set up your verbal commands and access any map of the commons using your own mind.
Category:  Native, Lifestyle

DASHBOARD
Monitor your own biofeedback data in real time. Set alarms and notifications for hydration, heart rate, blood chemistry and more.
Category: Native, Health and Wellness, Lifestyle

MUSIC
No more headphones. Stream your favorite songs directly from the cloud* to your brain. Based on mood, environment or personal algorithmic settings. *Requires data plan/subscription service.
Category: Native, Lifestyle

TRANSLATOR
Speak any language instantly. Upgrade with one of our “celebrity voice” bundles. Great for pranks and parties.
Category: Business, Education, Lifestyle

SAFE SEX
Select from any of our limitless companion options for infinite customized private encounters. State laws may apply. Do not use while driving. Must be 16 years or older.
Category: Lifestyle, Health and Wellness, Sex and Relationships

HOW2
Want to learn to play guitar? Fix an airplane engine? Slip your mind and body into one of our over 400,000 avatars and you can do anything.
Category: Lifestyle, Self-Improvement

I LOVE YOUR BRAIN
Fully customized biofeedback scans, reports and filters. No more dating sites — simply set up your social filters (interests, desires, medical history, personality types, etc.) and look around.
Category: Sex and Relationships, Dating

MY SPIRIT ANIMAL
Need help navigating the world around you? Select a spirit guide at random or based on your personal algorithm and watch them appear before your very eyes.
Category:  Nature, Spirituality, Lifestyle

DOSHA DASHBOARD
Real-time measurement of your mind-body balance, based on the universal elements and the 6,000 year-old practice of Ayurveda.
Category: Health and Wellness, Spirituality

BIG MIND [CURRENTLY IN BETA]
Access the planet’s knowledge stores and plug into the world consciousness. A direct uplink to Gaia. Speak to your ancestors, chat with your friends!
Category: Lifestyle, Spirituality

The Collaborative Future of Literacy: Howard Rheingold [video]

I had the pleasure of meeting Howard Rheingold at South by Southwest in March, 2012, where we discussed the importance of mindfulness in online communities. Here is a TED talk he did way back in 2005, where he presents his ideas on leaps in literacy (including the modern forms of “collaborative” or “peer-to-peer” literacy), predicts the computing power of the smartphone, and touches on two important social concepts — The Prisoner’s Dilemma and “the tragedy of the commons.”

Highlights:

“From [newly] literate populations, new forms of collective action emerged in the spheres of knowledge, religion and politics. We saw scientific revolutions, the protestant reformation, constitutional democracies, possible where they had not been possible before. Not created by the printing press, but enabled by the collective action that emerges from literacy.”

“Humans will inevitably despoil any common pool resource in which they cannot be restrained,” but are proven to “escape by creating institutions for collective action.”

What do you think the next leap in collective literacy will look like? Are we witnessing it now?

More:

Howard Rheingold – Net Smart: How to Thrive Online
Garrett Hardin – The Tragedy of the Commons
Elinor Ostrom – Design Principles for Common Pool Resource Institutions