Imagining Utopia

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." Albert Einstein.

Every action we take is to achieve some goal. That goal must first be imagined before we can bring it to fruition. Whether it is to take our morning shower, go on a vacation, walk the dog or any number of other objectives, we must first envision them. The important part to realize of this process is that it is the result we must describe first, not the actions we take to get it. There is a myriad of methods to achieve any goal. Goal achievement is a three-part system that resembles a recipe. To create a delicious meal, we have to imagine the finished product, gather the ingredients and put them through a sequential process. So it is with imagining Utopia.

We prioritize our goals by their value, or meaning, to our lives at this time, at this place, under the current circumstances. Goals are actually prioritized as their value MINUS the effort required to achieve them. Every life form is busy in every moment activating itself on its number one priority as dictated by the individual's value system. There are no exceptions to this rule. Everyone reading these words is spending time on their number one priority at this time, at this place, under these circumstances. If your tea kettle calls you or your smoke alarm goes off, you will be distracted and address your new number one priority. Most people seldom address their goal valuation but it will eventually be essential to do so in order to create a sane and safe Utopia. What would a Utopian society mean to humanity?

Utopia is a kind and gentle place. There are no homeless people in it. It is an egalitarian society where no individual is ignored. There are many examples of imagined Utopias in history from Plato, Thomas More and others. The Hippie movement in the 1960s created a number of establishments intended to provide solace to the weary by ridding themselves of decadent objectives. There is one major difference between those ideals and the one we are able to create today - Technology. In Utopia, technology is the slave of humanity, rather than the other way around as it is today. To achieve that reversal, the existing ruling class must move aside.

Everything humans believe and value is based upon agreements among themselves. They form groups that communicate and bolster beliefs and values they desire to hold as true, or real, and live their life according to the mandates of the group(s) to which they want to belong. This is the basic herding instinct of social animals - which we are. In Utopia, there is only one group and it is all-inclusive.

Splinter groups are created by "Group-Think," or Collective Consciousness of their members. They separate themselves by agreeing to trains of thought that differentiate them from other groups. Their behavior is governed by the indoctrination of dogma into their group-think. This dogma is also called a tenet - French for "to hold," or ism. Today's society has too many isms to mention that create separation instead of unification.

Anarchism is the political belief that there should be little or no formal or official organization to society but that people should work freely together. Communism is the elimination of political states and personal profit. In Utopia, competition is replaced by communication, collaboration and cooperation for the benefit and progress of the whole. There is no room for individual ownership, power or greed. The prevalent isms of a sane, safe and healthy society are anarchism and communism working in concert.

After the basic needs of human existence are satisfied, most people desire freedom and love. Freedom of expression, freedom from fear, freedom of movement, understanding and growth underpin Utopian society. Children are regarded as seeds destined to blossom into their purpose for being rather than be trained to become wage slaves. Traditions, superstitions, false beliefs and values are replaced with the understanding that we are all threads in the fabric of Universal Consciousness. Development of the arts and sciences in young minds is the objective of education. To "educe" means to develop or make something appear. To access the power we all possess when connecting with the Universal Consciousness is the goal of Utopian education.

Utopians know that Mother Earth is the provider of our sustenance. Respect for our mother is a primary concern for all her inhabitants. These is no waste nor pollution in Utopia. There is no usage of her resources for the purpose of destruction, decadence and frivolity. The quality of life has nothing to do with material things or toys to occupy idle minds. There are no polluted streams or poisoned atmosphere in Utopia. Cities which have become like skin cancer upon her face are replaced with common sense, self-sustaining communities that harmonize with her Nature. These communities would be connected by technology that is available today.

Utopia is achievable without violence or coercion. It can be attained by the removal of false ideas and false isms. It will sprout when those who support the ruling class turn their attention to those being ruled. After all, the only reason the ruling class has power is because we allow them to take ours.

Music has the ability to bring people and their thoughts together. The anthem of Utopia is John Lennon's song "Imagine." The message of the lyrics imply that the way to "live as one" is to eliminate organized religion, politics and money. It may be that Yoko's influence, probably based upon Eastern philosophy, had an impact on John. Buddhism is not a religion, but rather a way of living. The Tao is the path to enlightenment and that is analogous to the road to Utopia. Its message is Oneness.