I understand Boyd has many Mystic and Taoist sources in his library, but I struggle to find examples of him discussing the numinous/divine explicitly. My issue with his framework is: 1. It’s too focused on competition rather than cooperation and 2. It doesn’t account for any higher realm above human interaction. I see the case you're laying out- flow/Taoist-based, but I haven't seen that emphasis in his power points or the videos I've seen of him lecturing.
I've been building on Boyd to create a model that incorporates his thinking and is more explicit about flow and connection to the divine, rather than simply prevailing in competition/combat. Briefly, humans Attend, Appreciate, and Act, all to Attune themselves to reality. Same nonlinear/iterative/recursive framework as OODA, but rather than "to improve our ability for free and independent action", the goal is an optimal grip (Merleau-Ponty) on reality/context and connection to the divine.
You’re right that Boyd rarely speaks of the divine explicitly, and still, the mystic current is all over his annotated library—Watts, Capra, Teilhard, Talbot. He orients you toward the divine without naming it—like Taoism.
Re: competition vs cooperation—Boyd’s late work focuses on moral warfare and coherence, not conquest. Orientation isn’t about domination—it’s about harmony, adaptability, and flow. That is spiritual.
Your model doesn't really strike me as diverging from Boyd— it seems like you are trying to evolve his ideas and move them forward. That's why he left it all open, to do exactly that. “Attune” is an elegant spiritual upgrade of “Orient.” Let’s riff deeper on the podcast, open invite to you!
I understand Boyd has many Mystic and Taoist sources in his library, but I struggle to find examples of him discussing the numinous/divine explicitly. My issue with his framework is: 1. It’s too focused on competition rather than cooperation and 2. It doesn’t account for any higher realm above human interaction. I see the case you're laying out- flow/Taoist-based, but I haven't seen that emphasis in his power points or the videos I've seen of him lecturing.
I've been building on Boyd to create a model that incorporates his thinking and is more explicit about flow and connection to the divine, rather than simply prevailing in competition/combat. Briefly, humans Attend, Appreciate, and Act, all to Attune themselves to reality. Same nonlinear/iterative/recursive framework as OODA, but rather than "to improve our ability for free and independent action", the goal is an optimal grip (Merleau-Ponty) on reality/context and connection to the divine.
You’re right that Boyd rarely speaks of the divine explicitly, and still, the mystic current is all over his annotated library—Watts, Capra, Teilhard, Talbot. He orients you toward the divine without naming it—like Taoism.
Re: competition vs cooperation—Boyd’s late work focuses on moral warfare and coherence, not conquest. Orientation isn’t about domination—it’s about harmony, adaptability, and flow. That is spiritual.
Your model doesn't really strike me as diverging from Boyd— it seems like you are trying to evolve his ideas and move them forward. That's why he left it all open, to do exactly that. “Attune” is an elegant spiritual upgrade of “Orient.” Let’s riff deeper on the podcast, open invite to you!
Soon, my friend!