The Collective Energy Budget and Direction
Imagine a newly appointed world leader making a statement. The words spoken are not just sound waves into a microphone or lexically codified matter consumed via photons—they are the recruitment and sculpting of energy transformation within a complex system. This leader has been granted a new range of action, a greater mechanical power behind their words. What does that mean? The likelihood of what is said happening depends on factors such as previous outcomes and how much energy is behind the words (weight).
The nature of power changes with technology and information flows. Today, power is narrative and perception—shaping how people interpret reality. The leader is testing the field by launching extreme statements, forecasts, promises, or threats. Three billion media-connected people now absorb this. Some react with fear, others with hope, and some with indifference.
This alters the potential in the forecast field. What does that mean? Imagine the future as a sea of possible outcomes (the field). When someone with enough influence makes a statement, the pressure points in this sea (field) shift. Some possibilities strengthen, others weaken. In the subjective and collective forecast field, a potential difference is created—a tension that drives movement in bias and agency. Suddenly, people begin planning, preparing, and reevaluating their positions.
But how does this affect you? We humans manage our energy: food, survival, reproduction. We unconsciously quantify the goals and words of others—how much energy is behind this? Will it affect my energy budget? Is this a threat or an opportunity?
This may be the leader’s intention—to change direction by demonstrating direction. Not by force, but by creating expectations that in turn generate movement. In your energy budget, a new movement emerges because there is a new position with a hyperpotential linked to your direction. This hypothetical potential body is multifaceted and possesses both resistance and permission in relation to yourself.
Thus, our energy, bodies, and thoughts are recruited if we feel that what we consume resonates with our survival. There is a certain magic in understanding threats and promises within the memetic field—the establishment, conflict, and persistence of ideas.
The Media Signal, Your Thoughts, Action (Outcome)
You are connected to this field to varying degrees. But why should you listen to global news? Find a balance. Detach yourself from the signals—others’ goals and directions do not have to persist in your consciousness.
A modern paradox: We are constantly fed information about conflicts, crises, and power struggles over which we have no direct influence. This creates an illusion of participation, but in reality, it is often a form of cognitive overload. Why should you expend energy on geopolitical issues where you have no agency?
Imagine that your own goals recruit your energy. Make sure they are truly your goals. Of course, they can be collective goals, but are they yours? Our collective goals once had a different horizon—for example, where to migrate for the season, and what decisions to make in nature. And we were far fewer people.
When you consciously or unconsciously create a goal space, your energy budget and affective field will change to reach that goal (walking towards a goal in space or creating(manifesting) something following the same budget process). So, if you have fragmented goals, suppressed goals, too many goals, or an unrealistic goal (e.g., a self-image goal), your energy budget may be misinvested (too much energy, too little energy). These misinvestments are not optimal for your organism. Imagine a simple throttle for an engine that is somewhat low-variable or linear, but when you adjust it, the energy ends up in a field of constant bureaucracy, euphoria, or anxiety instead of getting you to the goal. Or when you should relax, you accelerate instead? Or fail to invest energy in the right things? Prioritization is also part of the energy budget. Oh! If you have no goals at all, you will remain still.
If you want to act—speak, organize, create—that’s another matter. But if you merely become a talker, someone who reacts without acting, you risk doing nothing but blowing hot air. Off to the Twitter swamp with you, where you can point at others and feel involved!
But if you withdraw from the media signal, be careful not to fall into another extreme. Isolating yourself from the world can lead to egoism or jingoism. The balance lies in understanding which signals are relevant to your reality and which are just noise.
Life and Humanity – The Collective Organism
We often see ourselves as individuals, but perhaps we are rather parts of a larger living organism with many arms. Language and memetic distribution are not just communication—they are nerve signals in the collective neural cybernetic control system. It governs expansion and restraint in various vectors and topologies.
You are connected to the world through your relationship with it. This field can be linked to the survival of the collective. It is about constant positioning—both aggregated and subjective. Communication provides new weightings; on the most basic level, you can experience attraction or aversion to a direction through emotions.
Do you believe our culture is well-formulated? Established? Shared? No. We stand amid an eternal development. We constantly deceive ourselves because we cannot determine what is truly important to us.
But if one wants to examine the signal, one can find a position—which is really many positions—without getting stuck in others’ problems.
You think better if you have a healthier relationship with your impressions—whether they come from the media or elsewhere.
Find your goals. Find your priorities. Find your self-image. Find yourself and find community.
Addendum
All of this is just models. If you have ever played the board game Go, think about how a newly placed stone on the board changes future moves.