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--- resilients:go_ask_a_mushroom [2013-02-17 16:20] – natabor
+++ resilients:go_ask_a_mushroom [2013-04-12 14:39] – natabor
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 === Spawning the resilium ===
-In nature, mycelium links all the elements of the ecosystem together simply by carrying on its usual life cycle. It unlocks nutrient sources stored in plants and other organisms, converts rocks and organic debris to inorganic matters, redistributes nutrients to wherever they are most needed, fertilises the soil and maintains its diversity. It does essential life-enhancing work at the grassroots in constant dialogue with the environment. Human intervention damages wild nature, artificial fertilizers cause mycelia to retreat and the soil to lose its vibrancy. But mycelial networks are resilient, survive catastrophes and are able to re-grow. They remediate poisoned lands, decompose toxic wastes and radioactive pollutants. If fungi can thrive even on toxins, why not look to them in the remediation of societies and the mycofiltration of contemporary cultures that are often poisoned by relentless abuse of power and polluted by late capitalist values.
+In nature, mycelium links all the elements of the ecosystem together simply by carrying on its usual life cycle. It unlocks nutrient sources stored in plant's cells and other organisms, through decay and converts the organic matter into a more usable form, redistributes nutrients to wherever they are most needed, fertilises the soil and maintains its diversity. It does essential life-enhancing work at the grassroots in constant dialogue with the environment. Human intervention damages wild nature, artificial fertilizers cause mycelia to retreat and the soil to lose its vibrancy. But mycelial networks are resilient and are able to survive catastrophes, re-grow, convert inorganic matter into organic usable form for themselves and for other organisms. They can remediate poisoned lands, decompose toxic wastes and radioactive pollutants. So, if fungi can thrive even on toxins, why not look to them in the remediation of societies and the mycofiltration of contemporary cultures that are often poisoned by relentless abuse of power and polluted by late capitalist values.
-I believe one of the most significant problems with contemporary culture is that it over com.modified -- tends to focus on the "objects" themselves -- surface appearances and formal pragmatic constructs -- rather than on relationships between the varying parts and how they treat each other. These relationships are what turn a collection of unrelated "matter" into a self functioning whole, whether it’s a garden, cultural community, or an ecosystem. By cultivating relationship we can save resources, energy, labour, not to mention ourselves, and work towards creating a holistic society.
+I believe one of the most significant problems with contemporary culture is that it over com.modified -- tends to focus on the "objects" themselves -- surface appearances and formal pragmatic constructs -- rather than on relationships between the varying parts and how they treat each other. These relationships are what turn a collection of unrelated "matter" into a self functioning whole. By cultivating relationship we can save resources, energy, labour, not to mention ourselves, and work towards creating a holistic society.
-Before it got entirely contaminated with mold, what if we inoculate culture with a mycorrhizal, medicinal, gourmet and magic mushroom cultures to generally enhance its health and imagination? And then when the right conditions emerge, multifarious fruits can rise up to "poison" the world with beauty and open minds, and seed other mycelia that can further propagate through "fresh" territories. When the mycelium exhausts its food sources in one area it expands outward in a circular fashion and cannibalizes the mycelium within to extract whatever nutrients it can find there. Then it moves them to the outer, growing regions. Whatever cannot be recycled is closed off and allowed to decay. May be it's time to cannibalize the inner core of our decaying culture, extract whatever nutrients remain, and redistribute them according to our true needs?
+What if we inoculate culture with a mycorrhizal, medicinal, gourmet and magic mushroom cultures to generally enhance its health and imagination? And then when the right conditions emerge, multifarious fruits can rise up to "poison" the world with beauty and open minds, and seed other mycelia that can further propagate through "fresh" territories. When the mycelium exhausts its food sources in one area it expands outward in a circular fashion and cannibalizes the mycelium within to extract whatever nutrients it can find there. Then it moves them to the outer, growing regions. Whatever cannot be recycled is closed off and allowed to decay. May be it's time to cannibalize the inner core of our decaying culture, extract whatever nutrients remain, and redistribute them according to our true needs?
 By analogy with mycelium, a "resilium" could be compared with a resilient tissue which randomly spreads out widely through time and space and pops up in the most unexpected places to spark joyful illuminations. It adsorbs complex reality upside down, digests it externally by releasing enzymes of curiosity, amazement, and other magical compounds, inventively converts it into non-discriminative knowledge and makes all this available for other organisms to feast on. This method of releasing enzymes and providing food for others is the natural way the resilium feeds. As soon as enough nutrients are collected in its network, fruiting bodies emerge -- mountain bear missions, remote sensing flight operations, augmented and non-green harvests, flotilla feasts, and many other unique happenings. These materialisations respond to prevailing conditions and circumstances, and can be repeated in various forms as creatures from all walks of life join in. The vaster the resilium, the more extravagant the "fruiting bodies". But when the "fruits of resilium" die down, the essential part of the organism is still alive. And it is not a static object. It grows selectively in response to chemical signals of human and nonhuman entities.