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Ascend, Evolve, Expand.....: Leaving the World Behind |
Category: Articles 9 comments 19 Apr 2005 @ 21:18 by spells : Are you ready??I hope this encourages some true discussion and seriousness of what life is truly all about. Let's show some courage and clarity and get on with what needs to be done!! 20 Apr 2005 @ 00:56 by astrid : Oh,Sandi, you hit the Mark totally, with all you say here!... And then your wish of "some true discussion and seriousness of what life is truly all about". Let's not forget that we "all" do have an inclination what Life is SUPPOSED to be and look like. We "all" like to call it Heaven on Earth and we ALL WANT IT AS LONG AS "Iiiii" don't have to be the one to give up "MYYY" IDEA of Heaven on Earth!.... Sandi, you know,and I know, that THIS is where we ALL get stuck!... The reason?.... A person of Higher Consciousness ((( = MORE INCLUSIVE OF ALL Humans, ALL ANIMALS as well, and overall ALL LIFE's Expressions of ITSELF -as opposite to the lower consciousness; unfailingly BIAS FAVOURing one GROUP over another "who cares if the Iraqis die" = my example here for all similar defenses and separating ideas)))CANNOT TALK a person of lower consciousness to join: The one on lower level has to see/feel the need to raise to a new level. THAT is the Transformation... and as we both know, Sandi; it only happens from Within!... The ones, who have felt the need and want to follow the Cosmic Truth and has had a Transformation BUT DOES NOT YET KNOW HOW TO IMPLEMENT the CHANGE in the/ir very real Every-day life.... THAT IS WHERE the discussion/the SUPPORT by those who already made a successful Transition needs to be!!! HANDS-ON-PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS and SUPPORT are the MOST NEEDED THINGS ON EARTH Today! Your Article, Sandi, also resonates with Ming's article; about choosing to work less and as Ming (too) makes the sad reflection, that very few people are WILLING to work less.... etc... WHY??? Because THEY DON'T SEE HOW THEY CAN SURVIVE AND HAVE A GOOD LIFE if / when BREAKING AWAY from their Life of Today!.... THEY are the ones, who would benefit from an open discussion, not what Life is about , but HOW TO GET 'from HERE to THERE'!!! THANKS Sandi! 7 Jan 2007 @ 01:13 by Lumiere Leigh @70.82.221.51 : I am 500% in agreement with you The question for me now is how do I make the break? Is there anyone near me who has found a way? I believe that most of what we do is so wrong, is soul murder, and I want to desperately to disassociate myself from this society but all that is strong is my conviction that we are dying. When it comes to making some move, I am lost. All I can do to get some relief is to go to bed dreaming about lying in a cave far away from everything with my arm around my dog and hearing only the sound of our breathing. 30 Sep 2007 @ 19:00 by Saumitra @148.85.227.146 : Life You should read Siddhartha by Herman Hesse (if the name sounds familiar, it's because the story's based loosely off the Buddha's life and each chapter represents one of the 4 noble truths or paths of the 8fold path). Yeah, society makes me feel pretty bad, too, and I can't help but see meaninglessness in a lot of things. But this realization took a lot of personal struggle on my part. If someone told me years ago what I believe now, I'd say it's absurd. What I'm trying to say is that in a perfect world, teaching morality and correct worldview would work, we'd have peace, and all that fun stuff. But it's not that easy. Wisdom can't be taught like arithmetic. We are not the first nor the last people to try what you proposed, and it's failed historically. Live a good life, make your message open to all who come to receive it, and let your happiness be your missionary. 28 May 2008 @ 01:44 by David @128.218.39.140 : Leaving the World We're starting a new blog on monastic living, and leaving the world generally. All those who are weary of the worldly way are welcome! 27 Jan 2009 @ 23:54 by Artifact @60.52.74.191 : But You seem to stand yourself in a position where you are against the others and searching for evil, albeit positive self-portrayal. I don't mean to argue - but doesn't your way also dictate a certain pattern, a certain "Right way" which others may or may not be wise enough to see? But why then would they wish to change their ways? Humans have a fear of the unknown - and would thus prefer to stick to the simpler form of materialism. After all, it's known to work - and to add value to human society - inventions, development... we know the couter effects... but which way do we go? 4 Jan 2010 @ 23:21 by Michael @70.27.167.93 : Lessons Life is short. Think back to your childhoods and years past, they all come to you in such a blink. Ask, if at the end of your days would that blink be filled with more enjoyments then concerns. I agree with has been said here and people have wasted their years on something as stupid as a paycheck and all the pretty little things it can buy you. One day you will be dust and all you will of done for the ones you loved so dearly is trap them within the same circle of waste. Is that really what love is to mankind these days, we only keep it alive anymore in dreams and fairy tales. A shame to us all. 9 Apr 2010 @ 13:06 by TwoSixTwo FiveOneZeroZero @198.110.49.102 : we are all siddhartha The Perpetual Undeveloped Self Our full production economy employs the greatest number of people it can to produce the maximum amount of goods that we as a society can consume. This has resulted in a State where corporations have evolved into legal entities that have the constitutional right to engage in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Corporations actuate these rights through engaging in business activities which are designed to maximize profits through the sale of goods and services. Investment is the tool which helps fuel this business activity. Shareholders invest money into corporations so they can receive a portion of the profits in the form of dividends. Since the corporation is under obligation to its shareholders to provide the highest possible Return on Investment (ROI), it seeks ways in which to cut costs and increase its profits. A few of the ways in which higher ROI’s can be achieved is by engaging in business practices which unfortunately degrade the environment, exploit wage labor, and promote a general culture of mass consumerism. Having developed this legal mechanism (the corporation) whose primary objective in so called “life” is to cut costs, produce products and sell them at profit, seems at first rather elementary. If we broaden the impact of our understanding however, it can be seen that corporations have the ability to engage in such activities in perpetuity. Unlike the human development life cycle where one undergoes a period of maternal care, early childhood development, socialization, and actualization where one finally achieves a measure of productivity in life before decline and finally death… a corporation once established operates always in the prime of its life. In fact, across generations it uses the energy of those it employs to sustain itself. Through prolonged periods of time this persistence of mission enables the collection of wealth, power, and influence over society. Does “With great power comes great responsibility” actually manifest itself in Corporate Responsibility? You can defend the point either way but the outcome remains the same: We have developed the global propagation of a market system defined by instigating consumption rather than developing our human condition. If the production of goods, consumption of products, and employment of non-livable wage labor form the foundation of our existence, if this is all we can afford to be appropriated, then we have indeed become trapped. We sit lost and undeveloped. The gravity of our situation assuaged first by, the busy schedule which dominates our time and second by the comfort of the products which envelope our existence. Under a full production economy, the masses are compelled, even trained into knowing nothing more than how to consume products and make minimum monthly payments towards more or perhaps “better” products. Working to pay off debt at interest, and working to pay off more debt at more interest becomes the perpetual cycle of life for the human, until debt and absolution of the aged are all that remain. Such a myopic undertaking enslaves the individual and binds the mass into inaction. It binds them to the notion of perceived need, the wanton desire for unnecessary and extraneous goods & services. The American populace has in fact, been manipulated so thoroughly and worked so close to exhaustion that it has been left devoid of the necessary time required to become an active participant in its own Democracy. Humans have become the absentee owners of the people’s government. We have become those who toil away on individual pursuits and stand steadfast in our dedication to bear the yoke of mortgage. Consumerism softens the appetite of knowledge. We suffer a lack of understanding…let us have the strength to learn. All the while; it is the corporation who operates in perpetuity. With a dedicated plan of action it leverages its longevity to influence the legislation of our government and in time, they indeed become our government with money and trans-generational supplicants to sustain the pace of progress. As such, we have an ill suited, underdeveloped, collective psychology where efficient means of production and excessive consumption become the influencing structure of our public policy. Our legislation becomes a legal environment which supports and encourages more of the same narrow minded approach to life. Our corporate citizens have arrested development. Our public mass is too overworked to participate in the public process and our government in part has come to be controlled by a non-living legal entity. With legions of lobbyists pursuing a perpetual well defined agenda, corporate citizens have been instrumental in helping implement our current structure of government which provides only for the protection of property, credit, contracts, and manufacturing interests. This emphasis on protecting the afore mentioned criteria results in a stratified society which ultimately forms an oligarch. This oligarch and the rule of law with which it has codified its existence serve to protect the will of the majority from disturbing the secured position of the minority in power. On a global scale, our society is composed of a wide and varied collection of nation states, each vying for control of scare resources and the economic compensation derived from the extraction of said resources. Such behavior results in clusters of “ruling class” individuals who most obviously wish to maintain the comfortable and secure positions they occupy. The cost of such opulence for the few results in mass ignorance of the many. With property, credit, contracts and manufacturing interests forming the impetus behind public policy, those in control become less concerned with the functions or activities which seek to enhance our experience as human beings and become more focused on increasing the efficiency by which to gain material comfort and promote a society built around individual consumerism. This fragmentation of individual pursuits and Deification of consumption increases the void of knowledge surrounding the process of how to actuate the true purpose of government. It serves to weaken the State and ultimately contributes to the downfall of humans as a species. Without collective insight, education and attention… we expose unguarded our freedoms and leave untapped our opportunity to have a hand in our own governance. How did we get here? The Appropriation Imagine a valley lost… way up somewhere in the mountains. The sheer cliffs of the ranges which surround it form a barrier to entry from the outside and a comforting wall of seclusion for would-be inhabitants of the inside. After the passage of ages, a small band of people crossed a narrow foot path over a saddle in the ridge-line and began to settle the tranquil base of the valley. In time everyone settled an ample portion of land, planted crops for sustenance and built homes for their families. Life flourished, a market economy developed and a mountain village had been born. The people of the valley became specialized in the production of goods and began to trade them with others from far off and distant regions in the area. Having no initial cost besides their own time & labor, it was easy to take ownership of and extract the materials necessary to produce its products; the people of the valley became rich with abundance. No longer a roaming band of nomads, these people now comprised a village. They commanded the land they occupied and had developed enough of a surplus to pursue leisure as an end objective. This pursuit of leisure was sustained by the importation of another commodity: The Human at wage labor. Once the village warehouses were stockpiled and trade routes established, the villagers began to import people into their community. These new arrivals took over all the base functions of labor. The new people became the extractors of resources, and the laborers who produced & carried the goods to market. The original inhabitants of the village had by now spread out to occupy all corners of their precious valley floor, and it was by grudging concession that they allowed the new laborers to occupy a portion of their lands. As a matter of necessity the village council appropriated a small portion of the land in the valley and divided it into sub-plots for building. They built tall buildings stacked one on top of the other, inside were small confined spaces meant to house laborers with only the barest of essentials necessary to be proficient in their duties. The new laborers were then allowed to purchase the right to occupy these spaces with the monies they earned from their labors. The original villagers and their descendants had become the de facto “owners” of the natural resources as well as the “owners” of the means to produce products. Ultimately those first few who had arrived in the valley had become the appropriators of common natural property. They controlled how much wage a worker would receive from labor, how much that worker would be charged for rent & utilities and finally the amount of residual income they could expect to keep after payment of all other fixed expenses. In most cases the residual income was virtually none as a net gain or worse yet… debt to be passed on to future generations of the same class. In this environment, two castes of culture evolved: Those who “owned” resources and those who “were owned” by their subjugation to debt, wage labor and arbitrary law. Although the afore mentioned story illustrates a simple example of how resources get appropriated by those who have seized ownership and control of power to those who merely serve the interests of those in power, let us look at how this example plays out in the actual pursuit of the American dream. The British took lands from the natives in the east, and then robber baron’s seized control of the best lands in the western areas while the poor were enlisted to breed out the remaining native populations in the west with land grabs and the expansion westward until coast to coast we became a unified nation state. Each movement west brought another appropriation holding a smaller sphere of opportunities with a greater proportion of debt and obligations for subsequent generations of Americans. Until the present day, when living on a street in Anytown U.S.A. paying down a 30-year mortgage has become the most that we as modern day Americans can hope to achieve. Wage slavery, and a voluntary submission to debt-base mortgage imprisonment forms the culmination of our possibilities in this society and yet we continue to label it a dream. We sacrifice our potential to develop as humans in order to participate in this framework and we perpetuate an ingrained social stigma when we shame others who do not participate in the same standard of consumption. Under such conditions one is forced to conclude that the entire populace has been subdued into submission and is suffering from mass psychosis. Much the same as a victim of spousal abuse who continues to stay with the abuser for fear of the unknown, the American populace can see no way out of this situation and most are barely aware that the situation exists to begin with. We lie numb with access to credit and consumer products while the appropriators continue to beat us into submission with arbitrary laws which reinforce their authority over our lives. This is a cycle which should be broken immediately. Those that control property in America whether through its purchase or inheritance have developed into the class of individuals who “own” Those who own are able to charge rent and subjugate those who “owe” into various forms of menial labor which befits their needs. As a member of the “ownership” society one is afforded a great many luxuries which are lost to those of the class that “owe”. The owners are provided the necessary amount of time to pursue education and engage in dialogue with other members of their class who are well read and well traveled. This allows for a deeper development of understanding and influence in society. As class begets class and owners procreate with other owners they slowly generate more individuals that display the same personality traits as the parent class thereby perpetuating more of the same if not similar behaviors and beliefs. On occasion however, there are some agents of this class who fall into debauchery or are pushed out by the knavery and deceit of rivals, this leaves the outcast in a situation where they are relinquished to the class of those who owe. Members of this lower “owing” caste spend an inordinate amount of time engaged in work activities which precludes them from developing the education they need to expand beyond ignorance and subjugation. As members of the uppers strata are caste out into the poor where their knowledge propagates into ideas for the hereto for unexposed it increases their understanding. In time this develops new leaders within the lower strata who eventually make their way into the higher strata and bring with them the ideas that have formed their development. Such class circulation slightly changes the overall perspective of each class strata and forms the breeding ground for incremental reform. The cycling amongst classes is perpetual, if not glacial in pace. As time passes larger sections of educated people are pushed out of the “ownership” class and become the residual casualties of successive business cycles. With each cycle more of the educated lose their ability to work and consume in the full-production economy. As they are pushed out into the collective mass, they take with them the understanding and articulation necessary to teach their new brethren the intricacies of the establishment. These new arrivals into the lower caste engage in the passing of important information and through this process help to broaden consciousness which will eventually culminate in a level of understanding which no longer tolerates such societal asymmetries. I and those who come behind me will not accept the disproportionate exchange of our labors for the petty appropriation of the debt based American dream. The human spirit simply cannot be placated in perpetuity with such a menial objective, therefore it is only a matter of time before a critical mass of consciousness develops and reformation is demanded. A Step towards Resolution So far we have discussed the societal impact of a full production economy and briefly investigated how we came to believe in and participate so vigorously in such an inequitable system. Before we proceed, let us take a moment to look at some common definitions which exemplify our state of affairs: Injustice, Oppression, Predatory, and Prey in•jus•tice (in jus′tis) noun 1. the quality of being unjust or unfair; lack of justice; wrong 2. an unjust act; injury; wrong op•pres•sion (ə pres̸h′ən) noun 1. an oppressing or being oppressed 2. a thing that oppresses 3. a feeling of being weighed down, as with worries or problems; physical or mental distress 4. to keep down by the cruel or unjust use of power or authority; rule harshly; tyrannize over preda•tory (pred′ə tôr′ē) adjective 1. of, living by, or characterized by plundering, robbing, or exploiting others 2. living by capturing and feeding upon other animals; predacious prey (prā) noun 1. to plunder; rob 2. to hunt or kill other animals for food 3. to make profit from a victim as by swindling 4. to have a wearing or harmful influence; weigh heavily Injustice, Oppression, Predator and Prey are the common threads that hold this system together. By creating a system that upholds laws which reduce human worthiness to a mere component of production it sets the basis for an unjust and oppressive society. Excess for the few is created by reducing the great majority to poor educational opportunities, developing in them a strong sense of consumerism, and loading them down with debt so they are no longer able to develop a sense of autonomy or personal worth. When people are precluded from developing their full measure of potential, they are oppressed. Oppression is a form of predation upon the unknowing mass by the ruling elite. Our entire system is built around keeping the populace in the smoldering darkness of ignorance. Laws are built up around us that are designed to sap the populace of its collective strength and resources. As humans we should demand a society that promotes an ability to devote ourselves to a culture of edification, no longer will we accept the tearing down of our popular public spirit. So how do we do it? Is it time to start a riot and forcibly redistribute the wealth of the country as we ransack all the waterfront properties demanding our fare share? The answer is NO. This would result in an all out media attack on the efforts to implement an equitable society and the movement would be lost in a heartbeat. There will be no redistribution of wealth or transfer of properties, only a shift in the core values of our populace, and a burgeoning of values which reward altruism, merit, education, skill and volunteerism. We must strive for a society less concerned with consumerism and more concerned with finding a worthy cause to pursue as a life objective. In short, we must become a cause based society. As it stands, the American populace is so preoccupied in doing what it takes to participate in America that we have lost sight of what it means to BE an American. Making this paradigm shift will be impossible however if we do not address the situation of the Full Production Economy (FPE), under a FPE we are simply too physically, emotionally, and economically taxed to have the residual energies necessary to be well read and participatory in our democratic process. We need not be so concerned with having a good job as having a good well developed brain. In order to combat the FPE we must not seek to tear it down but to find a legislative way in which to harness its strengths into actions which benefit the populace rather than prey on its ignorance. If one views the corporation with its narrowly defined objectives as the person it is considered to be in the eyes of the law, one would note that as a person it is suffering from a form of sociopathic psychosis and in need of treatment from the local community mental health agency. Compounding the matter further is the fact that we as a society are enabling this “psychotic individual” by investing money into him/her so that he/she can continue to operate and influence the very fabric of our cultural identity. As corporations gain power, resources and influence, they unleash upon the world the undeveloped collective psychology of the poorly educated mass and the error of our ways becomes evident in the disparities of income and privilege which riddle our society with side effects such as social upheaval and mass intellectual death. One way to implement a change to the status quo is to provide treatment to corporations in much the same way mental health services are offered to members of a community. Most municipalities offer tax payer funded services which provide basic resources and/or life building skills for individuals suffering from cognitive impairments or other socially stigmatizing disorders. Once a person has been diagnosed with mental illness a clinical psychologist will assess the strengths and needs of the individual in order to develop a person centered planning approach to help the person become more functional in society. This same principle could be applied to corporations. The differences being that compliance to this treatment would be a mandate by the federal government and the corporation would of course have to pay for the services. The corporate person centered planning approach would focus on helping the corporation develop a more well-rounded “personality” with a prescribed level civic involvement and/or a mandated percentage of funds directed towards civic participation, community philanthropy, or other general activities which make the organization more accountable to its important role in society. Once the behavior modification plan is put into effect it would naturally broaden the base of corporate objectives, reduce the cyclical codependence of production and consumption and relax the high strung intensity of the full production economy. At this point a great many concerns should begin to arise about: What happens when corporations stop producing so many goods and what will be the impact from the loss of jobs that occurs when people stop buying so much? Will there be an economic downturn or recession that makes us wish we never questioned the establishment in the first place? All of these are valid and necessary concerns. In a mature economy like that of the United States, the two primary debt-based consumption products which people undertake are mortgages, and new vehicles. If people stop buying homes and cars then the companies that produce them will no longer be able to hire the people who make them and those people in turn will not be able to purchase homes and cars for themselves. In such a case you would see a slump in both the housing and auto markets. But in here lies the catch, apart from movies, cars, and homes America produces relatively few tangible products, a drop-off in the employment rates for home builders and Auto-workers negatively affects a relatively small portion of the 365 million people who call themselves Americans. A simple solution to this is to retrain those workers which increases their intellectual capital, as well as spurs the educational industry. The majority of people in America who purchase homes or cars do not work in construction or automotive plants. They work in service industries, education, and health care. And they do not buy these homes with cash, they buy them with credit at interest from banks. As corporations become more proactive members of society and individuals are released from excessive workloads and consumer propaganda, both the corporations and individuals can work together to tackle an even greater threat to the liberty of humanity and that threat is the privatized central banks of the Federal Reserve. Moving Forward Justice lies in creating an environment which is conducive to all beings developing their full measure of potential. It is the role of the State to create such an assured environment and further foster the development of personal growth and social responsibility. These objectives should be backed, enforced and guaranteed by the ruling structure of government with all its inherent power of law. It is the job of good government to fully develop the collective will and maturity of the populace. In this manner, we will evolve and strengthen our civic/social mentality. This in turn will help perpetuate further individual development and personal intellectual abilities which can then be used to serve the entire body of humanity as we endeavor to broaden our understanding. Tips for developing understanding, motivation and action below: 1. Attend Democracy School & Learn about the American Monetary Institute: Find Democracy School at dates & locations around the country: travel is the best part. It is definitely a part of the experience to get out and see this country. www.celdf.org Read about the American Monetary Institute: www.monetary.org 2. Suggested Readings: Michael Curtis – The Great Political Theories: Volume 1 & 2 1981 J. Allen Smith – The Spirit of American Government 1907 David G. Gil – Confronting Injustice and Oppression: Concepts and Strategies for Social Workers 1998 3. Encourage friends and relatives to slow down. Read. Be well rested and think clearly. 4. Engage others in meaningful conversation. Thank you. TwoSixTwo FiveOneZeroZero 16 Nov 2010 @ 23:03 by Rick @65.124.71.66 : wisdom I like many of the ideas presented here. However, the idea that the universe is a benevolent God, and that our purpose universe-given purpose is to go to some higher plane, is specious. Clearly, the universe doesn't give a crap about us. Most of it is hostile to human life. As for how we feel at the end of our lives... who cares? It's how you feel now that matters. Eternity is nothing more than right now, forever. So, withdraw from the world? Sure. Then, come back with some true wisdom, just like Buddha and Jesus did after their times beneath the tree or in the desert, and share with those who will listen. Otherwise, who cares what you do? To share wisdom is, itself, a social activity. You have to care about others to be human. But, more to the point -- thought provoking stuff here. I enjoyed it. Thanks. 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