In my last post I tried to show what I believe is a viable way to tackle the problems we have on Earth from a pretty esoteric point of view, so it's not likely that many will be able to understand and/or believe what I said.
A while ago, my very good friend Viktor Vos and I recorded a
piece of music that I think explains very well where my views come
from. It's a short 4:31 minutes video. If you can, close your eyes and see if you can find the "spot". If you were to persist, eventually, you'll find it. You'll need to train your Ego to stay quiet for a while (all that chattering going on in there) When you find it, you'll see/feel a very pleasant "place".
Enjoy it.
We all are one
Love
Bob
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Peace
A few days back, my daughter abraded me for sending the previous
messages about the Ukraine war promotion situation. Even though I
talked about peace at the end of the messages, she complained that
they, my messages, did not bring peace into her heart by their
reading.
Well... I suppose my messages would bring as much peace to you as a medical report informing you that you test positive for a malignant tumor would. Because that is what Humanity's Body has. A malignant tumor that has been growing for quite some time now, and it has the potential of destroying us all, if left unattended. I'm sure we can all see it, sense it, feel it.
But my intention for sending these messages to you is not to participate in some Fear-Porn-Fest like many other reports/articles do, but to suggest a viable solution to the situation.
Let me explain... While studying the Vipassana Meditation method, the reputed original and not-altered meditation method taught by the Buddha himself, we learn to focus our attention on the breath. Only on the breath. In. Out. In. Out. For hours we focus on our breath while sitting in the lotus position. Well, after a few minutes on that position, supposedly motionless, one begins to get all sorts of pains. In your knees, your back, neck, and so forth. It is impossible to focus only on your breath with all those distractions. You try to ignore the pain. You try to push it away, to bare it, to deny it, and so forth, with no success at all. In fact it seemed to get worse the more you try it. There is just NO way of sitting still for one hour at a time. And yet, the more advanced meditators, sitting around the teacher, could do it just fine. Sitting there motionless, straight, and serene. Every day we did 5 or so 1 hour meditation periods, each getting worse in our ability to sit still and concentrate on our breath. Until the third day (It was a 7 day course) when we were told the secret to get rid of the various pains.
And the secret is... simply LOOK at it. Just look at the area of discomfort. Without judgement. Not trying to get rid of it. Not wanting it to go away. Just look at it. With "total equanimity" as Mr. Goinga said (the organizer of the Vipassana program) And sure enough, the pains/discomforts go away. Then you can sit there, motionless, comfortably, and concentrate on your breath for hours on end. Then you can focus on what the real goal of meditation is, becoming aware, feel, the energy being produced by every single cell of your body (my interpretation). When we become aware, conscious, of the energy emanating from every cell in our body, we can feel Nirvana... Ecstasy... The Bliss of Knowing as "advertised" by previous Avatars.
Since then I've handled every sort of pain I have in my body with that method. From acid reflux, to chest pains, to twisted arm, to dental pain, and so forth. It works for me. Just LOOK at it, and eventually it goes away.
Anyway, back in the world "out there"... I believe the same method can work with the "discomforts" our Humanity Body is feeling. We, as responsible citizens of our respective countries (neuron cells in the brain of the Humanity Body) need to LOOK at the areas of discomfort. Simply look, become aware the true situation, of the areas where the pain is being felt. Thanks to the Internet, the facts can be found. There are sources out there that are trying to bring actual data to the public. But we need to actively search and learn to discern which are the sources of information and which are just noise. The organs of the Establishment will never give us the actual truth. They are in the business of supporting the ruling elite. This act alone, of becoming aware of the truth, together with our conversation between friends and families, will be a great first step to eliminate those areas of body "discomfort".
While I was composing this message in my head, I realized that not many people have the same point of view as I do. I don't know of anyone that does, actually. So it is to be expected that not many people would understand what I'm trying to say. However, as "luck" would have it (synchronicity?) I just recently ran across the works of Robert David Steele, an ex-Marine and CIA operative with over 30 years of service in the intelligence community, who comes out with similar conclusion but from a completely different point of view, totally pragmatic, experience based insights. He has come out with excellent and workable ideas. His latest book is "Open Source Everything Manifesto".
Now, since he's no namby-pamby-hippy-dippy-flower-child-peacenic like yours truly here, his ideas may be more comprehensible to you.
Here's a short 6 minute video introducing him.
Here's an article introducing his ideas.
But you still have to look at the situation in reality... We need to become aware of exactly what is happening.
If we want World Peace, we need to know what is in the Air Traffic Control tapes confiscated by the Kiev government in Ukraine
If we want World Peace, we need to know what is in the 28 classified pages of the 9/11 Commission Report
If we want World Peace, we need to know what is in the confiscated videotapes of the surveillance cameras that caught the airplane crash into the Pentagon
If we want World Peace, we need to know what is in the classified files of the JFK assassination investigation
And so on and so forth... These are just a few of the black secrets that keep infecting our Humanity Body. I'm sure you get what I mean.
Pass the word. Expand the circle of awareness.
Sincerely,
Bob
Well... I suppose my messages would bring as much peace to you as a medical report informing you that you test positive for a malignant tumor would. Because that is what Humanity's Body has. A malignant tumor that has been growing for quite some time now, and it has the potential of destroying us all, if left unattended. I'm sure we can all see it, sense it, feel it.
But my intention for sending these messages to you is not to participate in some Fear-Porn-Fest like many other reports/articles do, but to suggest a viable solution to the situation.
Let me explain... While studying the Vipassana Meditation method, the reputed original and not-altered meditation method taught by the Buddha himself, we learn to focus our attention on the breath. Only on the breath. In. Out. In. Out. For hours we focus on our breath while sitting in the lotus position. Well, after a few minutes on that position, supposedly motionless, one begins to get all sorts of pains. In your knees, your back, neck, and so forth. It is impossible to focus only on your breath with all those distractions. You try to ignore the pain. You try to push it away, to bare it, to deny it, and so forth, with no success at all. In fact it seemed to get worse the more you try it. There is just NO way of sitting still for one hour at a time. And yet, the more advanced meditators, sitting around the teacher, could do it just fine. Sitting there motionless, straight, and serene. Every day we did 5 or so 1 hour meditation periods, each getting worse in our ability to sit still and concentrate on our breath. Until the third day (It was a 7 day course) when we were told the secret to get rid of the various pains.
And the secret is... simply LOOK at it. Just look at the area of discomfort. Without judgement. Not trying to get rid of it. Not wanting it to go away. Just look at it. With "total equanimity" as Mr. Goinga said (the organizer of the Vipassana program) And sure enough, the pains/discomforts go away. Then you can sit there, motionless, comfortably, and concentrate on your breath for hours on end. Then you can focus on what the real goal of meditation is, becoming aware, feel, the energy being produced by every single cell of your body (my interpretation). When we become aware, conscious, of the energy emanating from every cell in our body, we can feel Nirvana... Ecstasy... The Bliss of Knowing as "advertised" by previous Avatars.
Since then I've handled every sort of pain I have in my body with that method. From acid reflux, to chest pains, to twisted arm, to dental pain, and so forth. It works for me. Just LOOK at it, and eventually it goes away.
Anyway, back in the world "out there"... I believe the same method can work with the "discomforts" our Humanity Body is feeling. We, as responsible citizens of our respective countries (neuron cells in the brain of the Humanity Body) need to LOOK at the areas of discomfort. Simply look, become aware the true situation, of the areas where the pain is being felt. Thanks to the Internet, the facts can be found. There are sources out there that are trying to bring actual data to the public. But we need to actively search and learn to discern which are the sources of information and which are just noise. The organs of the Establishment will never give us the actual truth. They are in the business of supporting the ruling elite. This act alone, of becoming aware of the truth, together with our conversation between friends and families, will be a great first step to eliminate those areas of body "discomfort".
While I was composing this message in my head, I realized that not many people have the same point of view as I do. I don't know of anyone that does, actually. So it is to be expected that not many people would understand what I'm trying to say. However, as "luck" would have it (synchronicity?) I just recently ran across the works of Robert David Steele, an ex-Marine and CIA operative with over 30 years of service in the intelligence community, who comes out with similar conclusion but from a completely different point of view, totally pragmatic, experience based insights. He has come out with excellent and workable ideas. His latest book is "Open Source Everything Manifesto".
Now, since he's no namby-pamby-hippy-dippy-flower-child-peacenic like yours truly here, his ideas may be more comprehensible to you.
Here's a short 6 minute video introducing him.
Here's an article introducing his ideas.
But you still have to look at the situation in reality... We need to become aware of exactly what is happening.
If we want World Peace, we need to know what is in the Air Traffic Control tapes confiscated by the Kiev government in Ukraine
If we want World Peace, we need to know what is in the 28 classified pages of the 9/11 Commission Report
If we want World Peace, we need to know what is in the confiscated videotapes of the surveillance cameras that caught the airplane crash into the Pentagon
If we want World Peace, we need to know what is in the classified files of the JFK assassination investigation
And so on and so forth... These are just a few of the black secrets that keep infecting our Humanity Body. I'm sure you get what I mean.
Pass the word. Expand the circle of awareness.
Sincerely,
Bob
Sunday, August 3, 2014
It is exactly 100 years ago that "The Guns of August" began the "war
to end all wars!".
At that time the ruling elite of each respective country were able to whip up the patriotic emotional fervor of their citizen to willingly go forth and kill their respective perceived "enemies", and also risked being killed in the process, for something that was, apparently, required by the civilized world of that time.
When the young people marched toward the front with vigor and elan, marching bands blaring heroic music in their ears, fluttering flags all over the place, filling their minds with visions of heroic deeds and great adventure, everyone thought that this was going to be a short (a few weeks perhaps) and decisive war... we now know it was different. There must have been dissenting voices somewhere in Europe (the US was still isolationist) but those voices were too weak to be heard above the overwhelming noise of the various nations ruling elite beating of the Drums of War.
100 years later, some people with in the present day ruling elite, want to start a war. They want this war VERY bad, apparently. They are willing to lie and do all sorts of covert actions to get us in the mood for their war. To get our emotions in tune with their desire for this war. In the past century this would have been a "slam dunk!", easy to accomplish. But today, due to our greater means of communication, they are having a little more difficulty than they expected (I presume). There are enough people now that know they are lying and are unwilling to drink the "cool-aid" being offered, but there are still too many who have faith in what they are being told. It is a habit after all.
But there are some who see clearly what is happening. Here is a link to a statement from an organization of retired intelligence professionals, no namby-pamby-pinko-pacifists here:
American Intelligence Officers Who Battled the Soviet Union for Decades Slam the Flimsy "Intelligence" Against Russia
An opinion about "Washington's Ukrainian Fiasco" from someone who's been in the inside of the Washington Establishment for a long time.
A view from real investigative reporter, Robert Perry, about how the Media has handled the case:
Blaming Russia as "Flat Fact"
Please consider this information, compare it to what you've been getting from the Establishment Media, and make up your mind as to what is happening, then pass the word, talk about it with your friends, family, neighbors. Just the conscious awareness of this events will improve the chance of preventing this catastrophe from happening. Remember, we live in Democratic countries, and our silence will be taken as our consent.
God Willing, we will have World Peace sometime soon :-)
Our children deserve it.
Sincerely,
Bob
At that time the ruling elite of each respective country were able to whip up the patriotic emotional fervor of their citizen to willingly go forth and kill their respective perceived "enemies", and also risked being killed in the process, for something that was, apparently, required by the civilized world of that time.
When the young people marched toward the front with vigor and elan, marching bands blaring heroic music in their ears, fluttering flags all over the place, filling their minds with visions of heroic deeds and great adventure, everyone thought that this was going to be a short (a few weeks perhaps) and decisive war... we now know it was different. There must have been dissenting voices somewhere in Europe (the US was still isolationist) but those voices were too weak to be heard above the overwhelming noise of the various nations ruling elite beating of the Drums of War.
100 years later, some people with in the present day ruling elite, want to start a war. They want this war VERY bad, apparently. They are willing to lie and do all sorts of covert actions to get us in the mood for their war. To get our emotions in tune with their desire for this war. In the past century this would have been a "slam dunk!", easy to accomplish. But today, due to our greater means of communication, they are having a little more difficulty than they expected (I presume). There are enough people now that know they are lying and are unwilling to drink the "cool-aid" being offered, but there are still too many who have faith in what they are being told. It is a habit after all.
But there are some who see clearly what is happening. Here is a link to a statement from an organization of retired intelligence professionals, no namby-pamby-pinko-pacifists here:
American Intelligence Officers Who Battled the Soviet Union for Decades Slam the Flimsy "Intelligence" Against Russia
An opinion about "Washington's Ukrainian Fiasco" from someone who's been in the inside of the Washington Establishment for a long time.
A view from real investigative reporter, Robert Perry, about how the Media has handled the case:
Blaming Russia as "Flat Fact"
Please consider this information, compare it to what you've been getting from the Establishment Media, and make up your mind as to what is happening, then pass the word, talk about it with your friends, family, neighbors. Just the conscious awareness of this events will improve the chance of preventing this catastrophe from happening. Remember, we live in Democratic countries, and our silence will be taken as our consent.
God Willing, we will have World Peace sometime soon :-)
Our children deserve it.
Sincerely,
Bob
I'm getting news that "the whole Dutch population" is calling for
war. I hope it's not true and these things I'm hearing are just
part of the war mongering propaganda we are being flooded with over
here.
I don't know if you are getting any of the "opposing view" of the situation, so here's some of the better articles which I've come across.
There is a group of people who really... Really... REALLY... want to start a war. But it is not the side we are being told by the commercial media is the aggressor.
Please check the questions that are being posed to Ukrainian government. There MUST be evidence before judgement is passed and a new war is started.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-21/russia-says-has-photos-ukraine-deploying-buk-missiles-east-rader-proof-warplanes-mh1
Here's an article that debunks some of the "evidence" that makes Russian "complicit".
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-21/key-piece-video-%E2%80%9Cevidence%E2%80%9D-russian-responsibility-malaysian-plane-shootdown-debunked
I am conflicted about sending you this information, as you may think that this has nothing to do with you, after all, it is a very unpleasant subject, but it seems evident to me, that we are going through a very troubling time in which our energy (consciousness) as citizens of our respective "democracies" is needed in order to survive in a better more harmonious place.
I don't know what form each of our "involvement" would take, but being aware of the direction into which those who think themselves as leaders of our culture would take us, is a good start.
War is not the answer!
Please, pass the word.
Love
Bob
I don't know if you are getting any of the "opposing view" of the situation, so here's some of the better articles which I've come across.
There is a group of people who really... Really... REALLY... want to start a war. But it is not the side we are being told by the commercial media is the aggressor.
Please check the questions that are being posed to Ukrainian government. There MUST be evidence before judgement is passed and a new war is started.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-21/russia-says-has-photos-ukraine-deploying-buk-missiles-east-rader-proof-warplanes-mh1
Here's an article that debunks some of the "evidence" that makes Russian "complicit".
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-21/key-piece-video-%E2%80%9Cevidence%E2%80%9D-russian-responsibility-malaysian-plane-shootdown-debunked
I am conflicted about sending you this information, as you may think that this has nothing to do with you, after all, it is a very unpleasant subject, but it seems evident to me, that we are going through a very troubling time in which our energy (consciousness) as citizens of our respective "democracies" is needed in order to survive in a better more harmonious place.
I don't know what form each of our "involvement" would take, but being aware of the direction into which those who think themselves as leaders of our culture would take us, is a good start.
War is not the answer!
Please, pass the word.
Love
Bob
Sunday, January 22, 2012
A most succinct example
A
most succinct example of why we need a new KIND of money.
I ran across a
series of videos and web pages that can be used as a clear example of
what has gone wrong with our economic system and why a change is
vital
to our
continued survival
If
in my first video I was worried about what would happen to the
factory workers of the shaving blade makers if the majority of people
adapted the practice of sharpening their own razorblades instead of
buying new ones, the change of status of this article would bring
about an enormous improvement in the well being of literally millions
of people around the world, and at the same time terminate the jobs
of hundreds of thousands of people.
How
can this be?!
Again,
like in my first video, something that is good for me, you and the
environment, the place that makes possible for all of us to “pursue
happiness”, is bad for the “economy”.
For
a rational being, THIS does not make sense at all!
The
commodity in question has been used for hundreds, even thousands, of
years by just about every culture, including our own, for it's
medical and utilitarian properties, yet, we can not use it because,
despite all the seemingly logical (and misleading) reasons given by our current
opinion leaders, it would upset our economic system.
Any
guess as to what this item is?
I'll
give you some clues. It has been used for centuries as an effective
medicine for a multitude of ailments and recently a series of
university studies have demonstrated it's effectiveness, including in
the treatment of brain and many other forms of cancer (Really.
Documentation is given below) It can be used to manufacture hundreds of different
products including paper, textiles, construction materials, and
plastics, eliminating much of the need to use petroleum products. It
is a biological agent which can be grown in poor soil, without need
for fertilizers or pesticides. It would be a perfect source for bio-fuels, eliminating the dilemma of “food vs. fuel” posed by
this industry, and it has many other beneficial uses.
The
item in question is Cannabis, in both forms, Sativa (industrial hemp)
and Indica (marijuana). You can find all the basic information for
these two forms in:
Wikipedia:
Medical Cannabis
Wikipedia:
Industrial Hemp
Here
is an article on BBC News about cannabis stop breast cancer from spreading
Here
is a PBS video program exploring the situation “Clearing the Smoke”
A
one hour film from a Canadian who got cured from cancer himself, then
got convicted for promoting medical marijuana, “Run from the Cure”
Here's
an article about a Harvard study “Marijuana
cuts lung cance tumor growth”
Here's
a study in the PubMed.gov website about the details
of how it happens (it's
just the abstract of the study)
Many
more studies in this government site PubMed.gov
This
is the video that got me looking into this situation An
illegal cancer cure
It is a short 15 minute video that has
all the points needed to convince you that the status quo is wrong.
Overlook
the hyperbole and sensationalism and the essence of the story is
correct. Just because it is not patentable, there is no big money in
it, a perfectly viable, cheap and effective cure to
cancer (and other ailments) is being ignored, and not only that, it
is being made illegal with dire consequences for it's use.
How
can this be? How can this be allowed to exist! We live in
democracies where we acknowledge that the Creator has given us
certain rights that can not be taken away by those appointed, by us,
to govern our countries. Why can't we use this form of medicine?
I'm
one of the school of thought that believes that intellectual
knowledge of something does not improve our state of awareness,
consciousness, so I want to ask you to do an experiment that may
help. It'll take only a couple of seconds:
With
your eyes closed pinch your arm will ALL you might, so that it hurts
as much as you can stand, even if tears come to your eyes. Go ahead,
do it. This post will still be here.
Did
you do it? Come on! Don't be chicken. You'll survive. OK? Pinch
yourself as hard as you can stand it, and then even more!
OK?
Thanks.
Now,
that sensation you are feeling, as bad as it is, multiply it a few
hundred times and you can begin to imagine what some of these cancer
patients are feeling, right now, as you are reading this words. Be
thankful for your blessings and pray you are not given that burden to
bear (if you are burdened thus, I'm sorry, and I hope something can
be done to help you, soon).
So,
having this awareness now, I'll ask again, how can this be allowed to
happen? It is OUR country for chrissake! All in order to keep the
“economy” going?
To
those who come up with moralistic “slippery slop”, “gateway
drug”, health concerns, etc., for making Cannabis illegal, I can
tell you all that claptrap is just smoke and mirrors to distract us
from the fact that money is the only reason this plant is in the
present legal condition and we can have a hint about this reality by
the example of another drug that is showing great promise to be a
cure for cancer but the pharmaceutical companies are not interested
because it is available everywhere and not patentable. Here is a
short 12 minute video about it:
These
reports about DCA were made in 2007. Looking up the current status
of the research I found the latest press release (May 12, 2010) in
CBC
News about the successful conclusion of a study with 5 patients
“In
four of the glioblastoma patients, researchers saw no further brain
cancer growth 15 months after initial treatment. Follow-up studies on
cells taken from these patients showed that DCA killed cancer cells.”
(mind you, the survival rate for this type of cancer is 14 to 16
months) I've not gotten a response to my inquiry about the present
status of the research. (I'll post it when I get it).
Now
I'll go back to my original concern. IF this plant was to change
legal status and DCA became available for use, what would happen to
all those people working in the pharmaceutical industry? What about
all health industry personnel treating cancer patients? What about
all the prison guards if all the drug offenders were let loose? And
what will the newly freed people do? (at least now they are getting
cheap “room and board”).
Jeepers!
What if peace broke out and there was no need for all the military
forces? What would all those people do to make a living? AND...
what about all the profit the banks are making by laundering
the drug money? (See what I mean about “what is good for
me, you and the Earth is not good for the “economy”? Don't you
just get the impression that there is something deeply insane
in what is going on?)
So,
does the above information convince you that we NEED a new KIND of
money?
What
would it look like? How would it work? Well, "Sacred
Economics: Money,
Gift & Society in the Age of Transition"
points out one possibility, but there are others like the Gross
National Happiness index
being used by the kingdom of Bhutan.
There are probably others.
Pass
the word.
Bob
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
May 2012 be the first year of the Promised new Era!
and to begin it on the right foot, beautiful wishes from Sissel
(turn up the volume ;-)
And now, for the New Money thing... I want to plug in a book that describes very well what I've been looking for. What would a different economic system, that does not require us to destroy the world in order to "function", would look like.
The title is "Sacred Economics: Money, Gift & Society in the Age of Transition" by Charles Eisenstein. (The author has made it available free on line, but you can also help him out economically by buying a hard copy from the link above).
It has inspired me and gives me great hope that there is a way out of the mess we find ourselves in that does not require the mutilation and destruction of our planet. Below is the table of contents with links to the corresponding chapters of the book.
Introduction
Humanity is only beginning to awaken to the true magnitude of the crisis at hand. If the economic transformation I describe seems miraculous, that is because nothing less than a miracle is needed to heal our world.
Chapter 1. The Gift World
My intention is that by identifying the core features of the economics of Separation, we may be empowered to envision an economics of Reunion, an economics that restores to wholeness our fractured communities, relationships, cultures, ecosystems, and planet.
Chapter 2. The Illusion of Scarcity
It is said that money, or at least the love of it, is the root of all evil. But why should it be? After all, the purpose of money is, at its most basic, simply to facilitate exchange—in other words, to connect human gifts with human needs. What power, what monstrous perversion,has turned money into the opposite: an agent of scarcity?
Chapter 3. Money and the Mind
Money is woven into our minds, our perceptions, our identities. That is why, when a crisis of money strikes, it seems that the fabric of reality is unraveling, too—that the very world is falling apart. Yet this is also cause for great optimism, because money is a social construction that we have the power to change. What new kinds of perceptions, and what new kinds of collective actions, would accompany a new kind of money?
Chapter 4. The Trouble with Property
The realization that property is theft usually incites a rage and desire for vengeance against the thieves. Matters are not so simple. The owners of wealth play a role that is created and necessitated by the great invisible stories of our civilization that compel us to turn the world into property and money whether we are aware of doing so or not.
Chapter 5. The Corpse of the Commons
When I ask people what is missing most from their lives, the most common answer is "community." But how can we build community when its building blocks- -- the things we do for each other-have all been converted into money?
Chapter 6. The Economics of Usury
The imperative of perpetual growth implicit in interest-based money drives the relentless conversion of life, world, and spirit into money. The more of life we convert into money, the more we need money to live. Usury, not money, is the proverbial root of all evil.
Chapter 7. The Crisis of Civilization
The impasse in our ability to convert nature into commodities and relationships into services is not temporary. There is no more room for the conversion of life into money. Postponing the collapse will only make it worse. We need to shift our perspective toward what we can give. What can we each contribute to a more beautiful world? That is our only responsibility and our only security.
Chapter 8. The Turning of the Age
The lie of separation in the age of usury is now complete. We have explored its farthest extremes, and have seen the deserts and the prisons, the concentration camps and the wars, the wastage of the good, the true, and the beautiful. Now, the capacities we have developed through our long journey will serve us well in the imminent Age of Reunion.
Chapter 9. The Story of Value
As our sojourn of separation comes to an end and we reunite with nature, our attitude of human exceptionalism from the laws of nature is ending as well. A new economic system is emerging that embodies the new human identity of the connected self living in cocreative partnership with Earth.
Chapter 10. The Law of Return
The personal and planetary mirror each other. The connection is more than mere analogy: the kind of work that we force ourselves to do is precisely the kind of work that despoils the planet. We don't really want to do it to our bodies; we don't really want to do it to the world.
Chapter 11. The Currency of the Commons
The metamorphosis of human economy that is underway in our time will go more deeply than the Marxist revolution because the Story of the People that it weaves won’t be just a new fiction of ownership, but a recognition of its fictive, conventional nature.
Chapter 12. Negative-Interest Economics
The deep link between money and being is good news because human identity today is undergoing a profound metamorphosis. What kind of money will be consistent with the new self, the connected self, and a world in which we increasingly realize the truth of interconnectedness: that more for you is more for me?
Chapter 13. Steady-State and Degrowth Economics
I have long been impatient with “sustainability,” as if that were an end in itself. Isn’t it more important to think about what we want to sustain, and therefore what we want to create?
Chapter 14. The Social Dividend
Sacred Economics envisions a world where people do things for love, not money. What would you do, freed from slavery to money? What does your own life, your true life, look like? Underneath the substitute lives we are paid to live, there is a real life, your life.
Chapter 15. Local and Complementary Currencies
Local currency is often proposed as a way to revitalize local economies, insulate them from global market forces, and re-create community. There are at present thousands of them around the world. So what's the catch?
Chapter 16. Transition to Gift Economy
The new exchange systems blur the boundary between the monetary and nonmonetary realms and therefore the standard definition of the "economy." How would we measure it in the absence of a common unit of account? Ultimately, underneath money, is the totality of what human beings do for each other.
Chapter 17. Summary and Roadmap
The transition I map out is evolutionary. It does not involve confiscation of property or the wholesale destruction of present institutions, but their transformation. As the following summaries describe, this transformation is under way already, or incipient in existing institutions.
Chapter 18. Relearning Gift Culture
The transition to sacred economy is part of a larger shift in our ways of thinking, relating, and being. Economic logic alone is not enough to sustain it. As we heal the spirit-matter rupture, we discover that economics and spirituality are inseparable. On the personal level, economics is about how to give our gifts and meet our needs.
Chapter 19. Nonaccumulation
It is true that accumulation adds at least some measure to our security, but not for long. The mentality of accumulation is coincident with the ascent of separation, and it is ending in tandem with the Age of Separation as well. Accumulation makes no sense for the expanded self of the gift economy.
Chapter 20. Right Livelihood and Sacred Investing
Etymologically speaking, to invest means to clothe, as in to take naked money and put it into new vestments, something material, something real in the physical or social realm. Money is naked human potential -- creative energy that has not yet been "clothed" with material or social constructions. Right investment is to array money in sacred vestments.
Chapter 21. Working in the Gift
As you step into a gift mentality, the first steps will be small ones. Perhaps if you run a business, you will convert a small part of it to a gift model. Whatever steps you take, know that you are preparing for the economy of the future.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
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