"Final Empire" anti-civilization ebook

http://www.rainbowbody.net/Finalempire/

I'm exactly halfway through this book, and it's quite good. The full title is Final Empire: The Collapse of Civilization and the Seed of the Future. So far it's about the nature of civilization: how it is ecologically unsustainable and psychologically unhealthy. The book contains a lot of hard facts about the damage that's being done to the planet, plus interesting information about the way the planet's ecosystem is supposed to work when it isn't being strip-mined, slash-and-burn farmed, and used as a chemical dump. Apparently the second half contains information on how to repair the damage that's been done to the planet and how humanity can reintegrate into a "primitive" and sustainable culture after the inevitable collapse of civilization.

One thing that I started thinking about as I read this book was the stereotypical message that alien contactees and new-age channelers seem to receive and transmit all the time: if you humans don't stop the hatred you'll destroy the planet, so it's time to start loving one another. This pleasant and fluffy message is spread around a lot, but it never does any good. It seems to me that human beings--real flesh-and-blood creatures living on a planet that feeds and sustains them--need more than feel-good platitudes in order to discover how to live. We need to know all about the physical world and our place in it. I am talking about knowledge of the lifeforms on the planet, their natures, and the web of interdependencies in which they each take part. I am also talking about a holistic understanding of the energy exchanges that occur within and between the lifeforms on the planet after the initial infusion of energy from the sun. This is technical but natural knowledge that I think human beings are meant to hold. I think that the present state of affairs is only possible because we are ignorant of such knowledge. If our friends from across time/space/dimensions are so concerned about our well-being, why aren't they giving us this information when they make their channeled statements? It's conspicuously absent from all the channeled material I'm aware of. The only reason I can think of for a benevolent entity of an advanced nature to withold such information is that doing so might stave off the necessary collapse of civilization. For instance, if techniques for rejuvenating land destroyed by monoculture farming techniques were available, those techniques might be utilized by agribusinesses to completely enslave the flora of the planet by introducing periods of managed rejuvenation punctuated by periods of ruthless exploitation of the land. I imagine there are other possible ways to abuse the knowledge of how to restore the planet to its rightful glory and how to live like humans are naturally meant to live, but I can't imagine any system or culture that perpetually breaks the rules of life and acts like a cancer on the planet  surviving for very long no matter how crafty its methods.

Ultimately I think the physical world is an illusion, but I still think it has lessons to teach us. I tend towards Gnosticism, and the belief that the god of this world is blind, stupid, jealous, selfish, and mortal. Our world may have been created in error, but there exists an unavoidable metaphysical bedrock for all things--even errors--and this bedrock is the Good God, whoever he/she/it may be. I think the nature of this God permeates all things, and subtly influences all things. I think the Tao is one expression of its nature, and I think the Tao is made evident in the evolution of living creatures and living systems. No matter how corrupt things are, the influence of the Good God who lies at the center of all things is inescapable. To find traces of the operation of the mind of this God in the physical world and its living systems is important work. I think it is only possible to be successful in such work through close contact with nature, because nature is faithful and has submitted herself to the will of this God for so very long that she has become transformed by her close association with God. So communion with nature is vitally important for increasing one's appreciation of this God. Of primary importance is looking inside oneself for this God, but also in day to day life it is absolutely necessary to interface with nature as directly as possible so as to understand what it means to serve this God by taking part in nature while transmitting the Good God's influence. In action, I think this means foraging and horticulture. One thing that blew my mind recently was coming across the information that primitive rainforest dwellers don't just treat the land like their supermarket, they treat it like their garden. They move certain seeds from place to place with a purpose, putting them where they know they'll thrive. This is extremely loving and faithful behavior. This is the transmission of the will and nature of the Good God into the flawed creation of the Blind God.