The Na'vi of Avatar are matrixians harmonic with nature

In my January 11 post "I would rather rest than use my smartphone" for IzeLife.com, In it, I state that "due to human reliance on tools to carry out even routine tasks like dressing, even foraging human societies are matrixian, though by matrixian standards, they are the closest to nature."

Do I feel this statement also applies to the fictional Na'vi race from the Avatar films?

Short answer: Yes.

But how?

Don't the Na'vi live in harmony with nature, through the guidance of Pandora's consciousness, Eywa, and consciously protect and nurture their environment?

Don't the Na'vi cultivate deep bonds with Pandora's wild animals, including connecting neurally with the ikran and establishing spirit sibling relationships with the tulkun?

Don't the Na'vi understand how to tap into the Pandoran neural network to communicate directly with plants, animals, and Eywa?

"Yes" is the answer to all these questions. Moreover, there are other interesting spiritual concepts present throughout Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water*.

However, this doesn't mean that the Na'vi aren't ultimately matrixian.

I ignore media coverage of war to be Fail Safe

I remember the days after February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Although I knew better than to be taken in by the war, I was hooked on the coverage, for the first six months of it or so. Russia's public position appeared pretty interesting, so I started watching and reading all I could about Russia's involvement in Ukraine. I must have started by watching Ukraine on Fire and The Putin Interviews then moved onto watching RT, RT Documentary, and Combat Approved, then eventually certain YouTube personalities and channels as Gonzalo Lira, Scott Ritter, Richard Medhurst, The Duran, and Redacted.

I even started reading books as A Short History of Russia by Mark Galeotti, Spetsnaz by Viktor Suvorov, and Mafia State by Luke Harding.

I checked everyday the new Ukraine war videos on the YouTube channel of Hindustan Times.

Then, one day, except for the occasional scans for information, I let it all go. I had finally decided to follow what I knew all along. In the words of Alonzo Harris from Training Day: "This is a newspaper, right? It's 90% bullshit. But it's entertaining."

With Super Saiyan spirit, make everyday Christmas

I'm not a Christian. Jesus is said not to have been born on December 25. December 25 is said to be Mithra's birthday. Honestly, I don't care. Because the ideal of Christmas is true and positive.

When I think of the ideal of Christmas, I think of charity, good will, love, gifts, carefully prepared food, bright and colorful lights, and happiness - a lot of good vibes, basically. Christmas ideals bring out the best in people.

Now, the only thing is, this Christmas spirit only seems to last the year-end holiday season. Even before the economic problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, Christmas appeared to have been losing its luster. At least here in South Korea, it's just another day off from work. Some apartment complexes have Christmas light decorations, and cafés carry seasonal items, but unless you're in the touristy parts of the country, there is nothing special to it. Even the fancy festivities are put on by organizers or retailers as money grabs.

So is there any way to reverse this sad trend?

In The Matrix, kung fu is what matters to me

The Matrix movies present many interesting themes, including red pill vs. blue pill; reality vs. illusion; and free will vs. fate. These are not the only themes present in the movies, and due to the complexity and density in terms of how they are presented in the movies, I tend to be drawn to the franchise's most distinctive theme in a science fiction film: martial art, or as Neo refers to it in The Matrix, "kung fu."

I have taken the symbolic red pill, so I consider myself to sense reality pretty well. While I acknowledge that fate does seem to influence my life, I ultimately make the choices most congruent with the vision and focus I have for my life.

I make my life's directional decisions fast and intuitively because it keeps me from going deep down a rabbit hole that would bog me down just to obtain overly specialized information. Unless absolutely necessary, it is something I avoid.

Instead, I invest most of my time doing things to empower myself or at least get one step closer to fulfilling my life's calling. For the purpose of this post, I shall coin this "practicing my figurative kung fu."

Breaking free from James Cameron’s Avatar spell

I have never been too picky of a movie viewer. While I don’t keep too many movies in my personal collection, I do give each movie I watch a fair chance at winning my heart, through either the transmission of esoteric knowledge or wisdom, or being empowering or inspirational.

When I first watched Avatar in 3D on the big screen, I was, like many at the time, dazzled by the immersive cinematic experience and CGI ahead of its time. The film’s themes of environmentalism and energetic interconnectedness fully registered in my conscious about four years later, in late 2013.

By that time, the combination of my memorable Avatar cinematic experience and a conscious shift that helped me become fully conscious of the film’s spiritual themes had me fully hooked to the film. While I didn’t feel the need to keep rewatching the film, I had elevated Avatar to my movie pantheon.

Then, about one-and-a-half years ago, watching Ridley Scott’s 1492: Conquest of Paradise broke the spell Avatar had cast on my psyche.