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INTRODUCTION
The face of ordinary reality has changed dramatically in the first half of 2020. We have experienced a public lockdown, with all the political, economic, social, cultural and spiritual consequences, challenging as well as successful ones. Our view of life has changed, has undergone a transformation. The presence and significance of the digital world have changed too. Data, information, cultural and scientific works or formats that were previously only physically available are becoming increasingly accessible as open access material via online video or live streaming. “Zooming” is the new “googling.” Complex mathematical simulation models are experiencing a veritable boom as a basis for political decision-making. Just as our perspective on ordinary reality shifts, so too does our perspective on non-ordinary reality. As digital realities become progressively more important in our everyday lives, questions about the presence of spirits in these digital realities grow increasingly obvious and urgent. What qualities do such spirits possess? And how can we interact with them for a mutually fruitful coexistence? This interplay is desirable not only because it promises a gain in knowledge, but also because one of the essential tasks of our time is to activate all available powers to ensure a sustainable survival of our own species as well as of all lifeforms on this planet.
Shamans are called upon for precisely these tasks. The shaman’s expertise has always been to journey in non-material dimensions, to consult the beings who reside there, and to draw power for ordinary reality from co-operating with them.
This applies equally to shamanic practitioners in today’s digitalised cultures. They too serve their communities, even though these are constituted differently from traditional cultures. They too work continuously with their spiritual helpers to make available new power and new knowledge, both of which are prerequisites for successfully overcoming crises. They too support those who are in need, who are experiencing fear and suffering, or who require healing. They too contribute to success.
We already find ourselves in a post-digital situation, (2) in which the digital is omnipresent and organically woven into our everyday lives, and in which we no longer notice that the digital is “different” or separated from human beings. Digitalisation leads to a kind of digital culture shock (3) and to a total reorganisation of our lives. This development has long been under way and it has become all the more clearly visible since the widespread use of digital technologies in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Digital technologies are in the process of being transformed from a tool of organisation to a central shaping factor of life: “In the Anthropocene, man became a shaping factor; in the next epoch, technology could play that role.” (4) Artificial intelligence, machine learning or deep learning and robotics are the defining technologies of our time. They hint at what those who were not born as “digital natives” might think of as a horrific vision from mediocre films of the past: the proactive intervention of machines into our human lives, not merely through their banal performance of simple activities, but by their learning and apparently becoming independent or self-determined. It is this aspect that probably calls for the most discussion because it transcends the limits of technology and demands an ethical response.
And yet – and this too is shown by the management of the coronavirus dynamic – it is not machines that bring about the collective solidarity which gives a community the strength to pursue common goals and to overcome challenges. It is not ethical guidelines generated algorithmically by computer systems that influence central and strategic decisions. And it is not machines that make success possible through partly irrational and therefore truly innovative ways. It is we human beings who can accomplish these feats.
Novel and extremely complex phenomena call for basic research into the interrelationships between man and machine as well as into the consequences of digitalisation, including the relevant societal changes. Although this is already under way in other areas, (5) thus far there are no significant studies, literature or promising approaches in the field of digitalisation and spirituality. This book would like to help close this gap. Shamanism is a path of knowledge and power. Due to its constitution, shamanism is predestined to make contributions to the exploration of the digital worlds. In times of great change, from a shamanic point of view, it is necessary to take a step back, to consult the spirits, to manifest their power and information in ordinary reality and thus to inspire confidence, hope and courageous solutions.
ROLAND URBAN
Wartberg ob der Aist, June 2020
Book available at: https://issuu.com/fsse/docs/tagungsbuch_2020_en
REFERENCES
(1) Ishii, Hiroshi (2009): Intellectual Inter-Tidal Zone to Shape the Future. In: Leopoldseder, Hannes, Schöpf, Christine, Stocker, Gerfried (eds.): The Network for Art, Technology and Society – The First 30 Years of Ars Electronica, 1979-2009. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz. p. 258.
(2) Rustler, Katharina (2020): Postdigital als Zustand. Der Standard. 15.01.2020, p. 26.
(3) “Culture shock occurs when one’s previously held sense of identity is unsettled by confrontation with a new reality.” (Omenugha, Nelson Obinna, Duru, Henry Chigozie (2019): The New Media, the Youth and Renegotiation of Ethnic and Religious Identity in Nigeria. In: Reichert, Ramon, Wenz, Karin (eds.): Digital Culture & Society. Bielefeld: transcript. p. 68).
(4) Konzett, Eva (2020): Schützt unser digitales Ich! Falter. 1-2/20, p. 6; transl. HF. 5 See the works of Ars Electronica Centre and Future Lab – https://ars.electronica.art/; 25.05.2020.
