Shifting from Material Scarcity to Spiritual Abundance through Technology

by Emanuel Kuntzelman
We are currently experiencing a time where many of us might mentally feel as if we are about to smash into a brick wall of materiality. After reading the book Evolutionaries, by Carter Phipps, I was inspired to discuss this material descent in which we have found ourselves and how technology will be an important factor in pushing us through to our spiritual evolution as holistic humans.
Since the beginning of civilization we have been in a materialistic mode where we’re looking at the world as if we were battling nature, trying to extract survival from a harsh environment. In this current mindset, all we see is Earth's diminishing resources as we increase our demand for tillable soil, fresh water, breathable air and fossil fuels. We are spinning out of control with the realization that this isn’t going to work at the pace we are maintaining. Fortunately, this rate of accelerated change we are experiencing can also work in our favor. Our ability to process and use information is growing at exponential rates. According to author, inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, the technology at our disposal has increased at a staggering pace since the beginning of the 20^th century.
With all these technological tools continuing to be developed and enhanced, we hold the real key to make the shift to a more sustainable world. Kurzweil claims that we are only 16 years away from meeting 100% of the world's energy needs using solar energy alone. What about water shortages? We are already exploring methods of cleaning and converting dirty and salty water into drinkable forms through recycling and desalination. Food shortages? Technology makes an appearance again as we research aquaponic techniques that have no environmental impact. We are awash in energy. We have it at our fingertips, and it is this technology that will help us make the turn out of a material descent and then move upward toward spiritual abundance, of which there is no limit.
For those close to me, my confidence in our technological advancements might seem very unlikely. While I might not be the biggest technology buff around and am probably the last man on earth without a cell phone, I do recognize that technology has to be a big part of the solution. Once we are able to break through the cultural conditioning that has enslaved us to material scarcity, humanity as a whole will be able to focus on the new light of spiritual abundance. This turning point is much like a pendulum. When the pendulum changes direction, it actually has to go through a moment of timelessness. As we hurdle ever more quickly down into the material descent, it will be in the moment before we launch ourselves toward the ascending spiritual side of our wave that the pace of life we have been trying to maintain will need to reach a of "timelessness" to observe and connect with nature and the awareness of the present moment.
Once we stop spending our time collecting material goods and panicking about what we don't have, we can begin to focus on our spiritual selves. This idea of shifting our focus from a worldwide theme of material worry, toward slowing down to soak in spirituality might seem impossible, especially with the general impression that the rate of time is picking up speed. As change happens at a faster rate, we feel that time is also moving at a faster pace, creating  a sort of panic at solving these world problems. The key to shifting from scarcity to abundance though, can be found in what innovator and author Joanna Macy calls "deep time."
Going back to the very beginning of human consciousness and in the pure moments when we are connected to nature, we find that there is an almost timeless element in these experiences. If you are out in the woods both literally and figuratively and enjoying the here and now, time is very deep and seems to slow down. It is a rich sensation of wholeness that immerses us in the timeless spirit of our true nature.
To experience deep time we first have to stop measuring seconds, and instead tap into the present moment, the cyclical patterns of nature and create a more simple and conscious lifestyle to understand that time and information are on our side. Being selective and deliberate in what information we choose to process through our brain eliminates the subconscious cultural bombardment we experience on a daily basis. We are so fortunate that with the technology that we have access to today, we can truly make a choice in the information we collect.
By using this ever-evolving technology, we can escape the material descent and instead find the spiritual abundance that awaits us on the opposite side of our evolutionary wave. The solutions to the world’s greatest problems are at our fingertips. The more we visualize and believe this, the more powerful that affirmation becomes.