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The Last Generations: An Essay On Immortality & Evolution by Sarah Ikerd # 012 || IM PODCAST
Thank you Immortalists Magazine for featuring my essay. This magazine is building momentum and has some fascinating content. On Instagram: @immortalistsmagazine
Spotlight On: Socially Responsible Investing
During the first part of quarantine I became immensely engrossed in learning about Investing and participating in the market, and experiencing the best of what the United States financial institutions have to offer. In the past I have been uninterested because of both not knowing from having a negative impression, and also not realizing that I could put my own spin on things.
What dissuaded me in the past was having a bundle of companies prescribed to me a la 401k that I didn’t know about. I felt like a lot of these companies would be engaged in activities that I didn’t agree with. However, what I have come to realize is what works for *me and how much I enjoy it: To really engage by doing market research and selecting companies that are to the best of my knowledge in alignment with my values, and continuing to create ideal society and heal environment. I also want to select investments that I believe will do well and want to do well. For me the best investments satisfy those conditions.
I like to know that as I grow my portfolio I am getting behind some solid companies and endeavors. Most recently I purchased a clean energy ETF because I feel there’s no going wrong investing in renewables. That’s just the way things are going with the explosion of solar in particular. This is an obvious win – win to me.
This may go without saying — I am clearly focused on some longer-term growth with this outlook. However, there are definitely some stocks that I have held for a shorter term.
Here’s some promising longer term avenues in my book: Renewable energy, sustainable forestry, circular plastics, concrete and other building materials that are not wood, Cultured or cell-based meats, Responsible biotech, aerospace, technology in general, hemp, bamboo, medicinal psychedelics and the list goes on and on.
More short term investments would be related to products, entertainment, technology, and services.
To conclude, I’ve come to an understanding of the positive power of the markets and how I can be involved. I really enjoy doing so and that definitely helps. The more I learn the more it inspires my personal business ventures and overall optimistic outlook for how existing systems can be used and how they can evolve. Could we have different systems? Yes, of course. There are always different ways of doing things. But there is also a certain kind of magic in doing the best you can with what you have – and that’s a lot.
The Last Generation: An Essay On Immortality
Somehow the fish that crawled out of the ocean made a decision and developed legs. The desire and impetus were there to make a necessary change, and it was a success. Choosing to evolve can be viewed as always a success.
What about the curious creatures in nature who seem to have evolved away from biological death and have ways to prolong life by regeneration.
Could this be next for humans just as a matter of course and necessity? Each generation that biologically passes on, something is lost and has to be taught again, and then re-learned in a new way. This kind of evolution is rather slow, and there’s enough recorded history now to be able to see this.
Yuval Noah Harari, although his outlook is rather dark, uttered a monumental phrase for the current age: “Death is optional.” This very well could be the last generation of humans who consider death to be an inevitable, inescapable fact. That would free up a lot of energy to relax and enjoy the growth wouldn’t it.
We’ve seen a marvelous wave of mind expanding scientific innovations in recent times, especially spurred by the inward looking experience of the pandemic. Not only can promising physical technologies prolong and regenerate life – the spiritual technology of conscious belief is equally powerful, the power of considering and wrapping one’s mind around possibilities one was unaware of before.
This is not irreligious — the continuation of life is an expression of a benevolent universe, as Einstein referred to it. This is a place of life and growth. If one wants to die, so be it. That’s the way things have been, but there could also be a group of people who decide not to.
The issue of there being enough room on this planet is rendered null by the next chapter of aerospace innovation – the development of deep space propulsion, and active exploration of and colonizing other planets. We now know there are many! Having the space is not an issue.
We have an infinite universe to populate. And these projects are a whole lot easier with more continuity – that is, longer life spans. There’s much to be excited about here. Of course, this is my personal view.
Both innovations in biotech and aerospace are extremely supportive of longer life spans, respectively making moves towards noninvasive medicine and biological enhancements, and space travel. Again and obviously, not everyone is going to want this. However many will probably come around given the rate of technological advancement, and how its existence expands our minds.
Generations of humans have been waiting for immortality really, alongside exploration of the universe. Their history of longing is palpable. Perhaps the only “hell” is continuing to believe existence has to be finite, or has to pass on to a metaphysical realm (to each their own and I won’t even crack into the multiverse concept at this juncture) and that death is inevitable. Going forward, it could just be a matter of choice.
This represents a new way of being, a new level of consciousness, that has to take hold in one’s very cells – what’s been referred to as “the biology of belief.” Cells and systems can become imbued with this new way of thinking, and reengineer themselves accordingly.
Looking around us in the cosmos there’s an infinite amount of resources, both visible to our eyes and (as yet) invisible. And the human body is an open energetic system, so it seems quite plausible that biological immortality is already possible. (The Tardigrade’s off to the side saying “Duh!”) It’s just a matter of redirecting consciousness and belief systems which in turn enhance the physical.
This could be the last generation bound necessarily by the death concept. We’ll see. I for one am deeply inspired by this consideration, and the more I learn and new truth I seek, the more this gets reinforced. I have been coming into trusting my unified self as a self healing system and using meditation in part as a means of internal communication.
There may well be people who are offended by this essay, or think I’m crazy. The real craziness though is being unwilling to think, and blind to exploration. I would say that’s like a fish who saw another fish growing legs saying “What do you wanna go and do that for? We’ve always been in the water – That’s how things have always been!” That mindset of course is an evolutionary standstill.
None of this conflicts with existence of a higher intelligence or cosmic being(s). And I would say believing in inevitable death could be viewed as just as potentially radical or irreligious as believing in infinite life in the spiritual, and even physical sense. What’s your hurry, right? This place ain’t good enough for you? This could perhaps be why the Hindu calendar still considers us in the dark ages.
Time will tell… We’ve got the awareness of quantum physics now, in which energy never dies, and everything is flexible, even the measure of time. Concepts evolves with us as humanity co-creates our reality and keeps on discovering.