How am I jamming culture? Striving to consume less and contribute more. Deconstructing the barrage of mainstream media stories/ads/viral marketing thrown at me. Not assuming any of it is truth. Questioning reality. Developing stories (for radio, print, and video) which deal with all of the above. Fostering dialogue around these issues in my personal relationships. Beyond that, it’s about living in the moment and embracing the experiences of life. This is what Kalle Lasn (my introduction to, and one of the main champions of culture jamming) has to say about being here now:

“…why many culture jammers take daily leaps of faith, or of courage – acts that take them outside market-structured consciousness long enough to get a taste of real living. Living in the moment, pursuing the authentic gesture, living close to the edge – call it what you will – when it’s genuine, it’s the force that makes life worth living.”

That’s what I’m trying to do, as is Jeph. We examine our purchases closely: why do we need/want it? where did it come from and where will it end up? who’s benefiting from the purchase? negative impacts of it’s creation/existence? better alternatives? Stepping out of the walls of corporate employment and building our own businesses takes us out of the *perceived* safety net of steady income with benefits. Creating our daily schedule and reality allows us the freedom to live in the moment.

Bruce Mau suggests we “desynchronize from standard time frames and surprising opportunities may present themselves.” There’s a natural flow to life; it’s always in motion, like the water of earth. It’s not strictly linear like the 24 hour clock. It’s goes beyond the dimensions of spacetime.

I wrote this back in February ‘07, several months after the concept of e-volvedliving emerged.

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Starting in my teens I’ve written about my life in a blank book of one form or another which I carry around with me whenever I’m out and about. Over the years, though, the responsibilities of life have grown and the time for sitting down and thinking/writing has shrunk. As that time has decreased it has become more valuable to me. What is most beneficial for me to write about with the time I have? And beyond just the issue of time, what purpose does the act of writing serve?

Along the way I’ve started thinking about the output of these sessions – the words on the page. There is a box I carry around each time we move, keeping it close to my desk, full of those books of words about my life. I don’t venture into it often, but what a treasurehouse; those words describe my evolution during it’s most rapid phases – the teens and twenties – where each day and my purpose on this planet were huge mysteries. Existence will always be mysterious, that is the challenge and joy of life, but snugly into my thirties now, I am interested more in what is succeeding and failing in the world, my impact upon it, and taking actions to improve it and design a life in harmony with it. The purpose for my writing is to research, explore, and document these themes. But it doesn’t feel worthy of my time anymore if the words just collect in another blank book which will end up in the box by my desk.

As I’ve grown I’ve become more and more aware of the challenges facing planet earth, the critical choices/opportunities given human beings, and my limited time to make wise choices/take wise action and learn from the unwise ones. These themes are universal and it behooves me, as a creature of the universe, to share what I learn, and engage others in the exploration. That is what I have arrived at after all these years of words on a page.

This is not a selfless pursuit, though. I’m not sure I believe anything is. If we don’t understand, center, and take care of ourselves, how can we really embrace life, and be of service to others? In that regard the biggest challenge and necessity for me has always been to have my work – my livelihood – and my life be intimately connected and on the same path. That requires, and also affords, the freedom and independence to focus on what really matters. (It’s like the chicken and the egg – you can’t have one without the other.)

So, I am taking the words to my laptop because from there they can move to the web and be shared with others. The web is also a great vehicle for conducting research and connecting with global communities; not a substitution for seeing/experiencing/interacting, just a complementary method.