[extropy-chat] Creating Transhumanity

[Samantha Atkins]

> Adrian wrote:
> So, out of curiosity, would anyone else like to speak up, and tell us
> how y'all interpet transhumanism and what you're doing to make it
> happen?

Transhumanism to me is an extension and continuation of the upward  
movement in humanity toward fulfillment, in the direction of  
increasing perfection, abilities and choices and overcome various  
types of limitation and suffering.   What attracted me originally and  
still most lights me up is the real possibility of Abundance, on all  
levels and for everyone.   But it goes deepen than that.   It  
connects up to all those personal and global circuits that usually  
get channeled into spirituality and religion.  Except that I see that  
most of the things most religions promise in heaven or in another  
life can be ours here, on this world, and in whatever other types of  
habitats that may someday be ours.

So what am I doing.  I have been kicking something around for a long  
time.   I am done kicking it around. I will found a strongly  
transhumanist religion.   Ah. I can hear the groaning already.

I think that there is room and good reason to take the best of human  
spirituality and its tools and deep yearnings and wed that with  
science and especially with transhumanism/futurism/extropian memes.    
A Vision that knits hearts and minds together toward its  
manifestation could be planted all across many spiritual communities,  
in transhumanist circles and pull in many others from their cynicism  
or experience of lack of meaning.  When such a Vision takes hold the  
chances of arriving at a future that sings the best in us into  
manifestation will be greatly increased.

It is a religion because it will teach that we need much more than  
technology to truly create a relative paradise on this earth.  It  
will take a lot of in depth psychological and spiritual work to  
become our best selves and free our energies for the Work.    It is  
quite a shift of consciousness to really get Abundance.  This  
religion is not exclusive and certainly doesn't have a corner on  
Truth.  It is simply the best and widest net for moving forward that  
I can presently conceive of weaving and casting.  You don't have to  
believe everything I believe.  Take what works for where you are. It  
will work for some and not for others.   It is not my job to figure  
it all out.  I hope enough others  are drawn to the basic idea that  
we together can flesh out the organization and create, ever sharpen  
and spread the Vision.   I hope it infects a lot of people in various  
other religions.  I hope it infects and inflames a lot of people who  
think that to create, claim and be claimed by a Vision is somehow  
intellectually uncool.

It is very early in the formation phase of this new religion.    The  
name I am considering is "Church of the Fulfillment".   The idea  
being that we, all of humanity, can now get on with fulfilling all  
those age-old dreams of humanity and more for real, here and now, in  
this world.

- samantha
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