Open Collaboration
What does Open collaboration entail?
Open Collaboration is based upon the existence of “Open-source software,” which is a collaborative effort that allows anyone with technical expertise to use, modify, improve, and distribute code freely for the betterment of all.
This same concept can apply to all facets of society, where collaborative efforts bring together the best ideas and fresh new perspectives to create technologies and designs that serve all of humanity rather than pure competition based upon individual gain.
Pure individualism limits our full potential
When we sequester knowledge that could help all of humanity, we are doing a disservice to ourselves, and we are ultimately in competition with Divine Will.
The more minds working together, the more there are different perspectives, talents, and specialized skills that can further advance an idea.
We are one human family with a shared destiny, so while individualism has a place in the world, collective efforts can bolster our evolution and strengthen our spiritual bonds.
Competition vs. Cooperation
The behavior of people is predicated largely on how they feel they are respected and valued within society. With a foundation that is built on Love and Cooperation, most people would naturally want to contribute more to the world.
Pure competition is not a Divine driving force. It motivates people out of fear of living in poverty while feeding their ego and causing stress for the need to stand out.
Collaborative efforts bring out the best ideas because people are more inclined to share their full potential when they know that they are an active part in creating something. It feels good to the soul to know that your fellow humans are doing things for you without expectations of something in return, which actually encourages people to contribute to reciprocate the gesture.
Copyrights and Patents
Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘There is nothing new under the sun”?
It is utter insanity for us to be in competition with one another when we are members of the same race. The new world will not have copyrights and patents, and these ridiculous, harmful ideas will seem like a distant memory.
Then again, a world without the concept of money would remove any false need for these things anyway!
How is Open Collaboration in alignment with the three ROOTS of the Tree of Life…?
NATURAL LAW
The Universe works its magic most potently when all of humanity are working together. There is room for healthy competition when it comes to allowing individuals to be rewarded for their personal hard work, but one cannot create something without building upon the hard work of all those other individuals before them.
“There is nothing new under the sun.”
How can we take credit for discovering an idea when the Universe has already put laws into effect that have been around for all eternity? We are merely instruments of design and ingenuity who serve as receivers of universal knowledge, much like an antenna receives the frequencies that are broadcast.
Open source technology also helps stimulate ingenuity within society, because it makes it easier for the individual to use the technology to further their own unique ideas, paving way for one to benefit and make a living off of what they create.
MUTUALISM
The creation of technologies and designs that can benefit all of humanity are best done with the intentions set forth to make the world a better place, rather than for sole profit from such endeavors. When people collaborate together, not only is there a wealth of differing perspectives, there is also a sense of kinship that can help to make things better through a greater sense of collaboration.
What kind of madness would allow ideas to be patented? Why would any patents exist in a world where all of humanity are dependent on one another to create as safe, healthy, and productive of a society as possible? The more we cooperate together, the easier it is to condense knowledge in a way that is palatable for everyone to understand, and to give everyone an equal chance to produce their own work out of the available technologies.
A society built on a foundation of competition leads to disunity, leading to power-differentials and the hoarding of wealth. Under the principles of mutualism, we can create a global atmosphere that celebrates differences and encourages collaborative endeavors that lead to both individual prosperity and societal unity.
TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE
How open-collaboration pertains to Traditional Ecological Knowledge is best exemplified through examining water.
In an ecosystem, water is a necessity for Life to exist and to flourish. Every living organism requires water. While each organism chooses how to live, each individual draws from the same pool of water that continues to circulate around the planet. Water that is drunk by one organism evaporates into the atmosphere, and then rains back on the ground for other organisms to drink.
Now if we imagine ideas as a pool of water, we can see that we all draw from the same pool of universal knowledge. This pool is available to all of us, and one person’s idea can just as easily be obtained by a different individual.
When one person drinks from the pool of knowledge, that same pool of water evaporates, circulates, and rains down on the rest of humanity for the continual birth of new ideas to build upon what others have developed.
