Philosophy to turn consumer culture around to REALLY benefit society.

a reply to: ketsuko

That is just programming to trade a need for a want... it is very important in a capitalist society to start that programming early and make it stick... as adults we become desensitized to it for the most part... not on the lack of effort though, it's just ads are probably the most common thing someone sees everyday, aside from the back of their eye lids... nothing wrong capitalism, it's just the form we have allowed it to take... there's the possibility of returning to the sociocapitalism we once had, that the US was founded on and made it so strong. Socialism puts all the money in the hands of the government because they don't give power back to the people once they have it, the same could be said for capitalism and the 1% hiding under the guise of freedom... which they erode more of everyday, to rig the game and constitution in their favor.

a reply to: BigBrotherDarkness

But what we have today is NOT capitalism. It's corporatism. There is a difference.

Capitalism is the free exchange of goods and services. Can you honestly look at the legal and regulatory structure imposed on people today and call it a "free" exchange of anything? It's so bad that if I want to grow tomatoes in my backyard and sell them for a few dollars, I could potentially get in trouble because I live a few miles from a state line and could be charged under interstate commerce laws.

Why should it matter? The short answer is that it shouldn't.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: BigBrotherDarkness

But what we have today is NOT capitalism. It's corporatism. There is a difference.

Capitalism is the free exchange of goods and services. Can you honestly look at the legal and regulatory structure imposed on people today and call it a "free" exchange of anything? It's so bad that if I want to grow tomatoes in my backyard and sell them for a few dollars, I could potentially get in trouble because I live a few miles from a state line and could be charged under interstate commerce laws.

Why should it matter? The short answer is that it shouldn't.

I totally agree, but as long as you pay tax on that income from sales, you should be in the clear from that. Yes?

a reply to: BigBrotherDarkness

I'm apathetic because I don't love money because of the harm it does to humanity? Wow, talk about twisting truth.

Money doesn't starve - a human does.
Money doesn't love - a human does.

Unfortunately those who love money decrease their compassion for their neighbours such as the poor or homeless. The greedy rulers stole what Nature has given for free and put it in their money system. They are anti-freedom , anti-nature, anti-life, and anti-compassion.

originally posted by: arpgme
a reply to: BigBrotherDarkness

I'm apathetic because I don't love money because of the harm it does to humanity? Wow, talk about twisting truth.

Money doesn't starve - a human does.
Money doesn't love - a human does.

Unfortunately those who love money decrease their compassion for their neighbours such as the poor or homeless. The greedy rulers stole what Nature has given for free and put it in their money system. They are anti-freedom , anti-nature, anti-life, and anti-compassion.

Money doesn't starve - a human does.
Money doesn't love - a human does.

By your own admission money doesn't do a damn thing... people do

a reply to: BigBrotherDarkness

It controls the world, is an excuse to steal land that was once free, and take resources.

Money doesn't do a thing but harm because it is lifeless and control by unconscious rich bankers who lack apathy and don't care for nature.

originally posted by: arpgme
a reply to: BigBrotherDarkness

It controls the world, is an excuse to steal land that was once free, and take resources.

Money doesn't do a thing but harm because it is lifeless and control by unconscious rich bankers who lack apathy and don't care for nature.

Oh Arpgme... I wish there was some way I could snap my fingers and duality would leave your heart. It pains me to see you suffering so lately, since you have given so many people hope in your posts and helped speed people along on their paths to realization... with threads like the Cakra/chakra one.

You've written threads on meditation... when you are sitting in meditation? Do you listen and analyze your thoughts? Looking for truth? If so, that is just thinking my friend... it is discriminating one thing for another and then deciding something has more value and then accepting that as truth it creates a strong belief making duality that much stronger and separation from others that much stronger... you'll become one alright, when you've become so idealistic no one else wants to be around you and find yourself alone.

Some times that happens, as some paths people choose lead them there one choice at a time... it's not a bad thing though, because you will learn from it. I've been down that road, some choose that road out of extreme faiths despite the world's screams for help... saying please don't hate, please don't discriminate, please don't from an opinion of bias and duality, draw that line and make us an enemy, have compassion and love for all, empathize with us and open you eyes and see how we have had compassion and empathy for you all along... because we are not truly separate, but being so wrapped up in what you want and what you need the world to be for you to be happy, it doesn't make everyone happy... it's an ideal that is all yours, some parts of it are shared ideals, so even in darkness one cannot feel alone... but when that ideal points a finger it doesn't see itself contributing the the problem of the whole, it see's another instead and enemy to fight. The only reason there is an enemy is because of the choice to draw a line that separates you.

Money can be the air you breath if it becomes scarce, money can be the water you drink... if your heart says all this air and water is mine? That's greed, if you say I have air and water but want a lot more than I need I need yours too? that's also greed, and hate combined. Not seeing through all of this for what it is? A created construct of ones own making? It becomes delusion. All three of those together combine to form a ball of ignorance we call a self that is separate.

If I slice my finger while making us dinner and you see it... you are going to have a reaction as if it was your finger that was sliced. Why? because you have had the same experience... and in that moment the only thing separating us was time. As once you were holding the knife that sliced yours and felt the pain. So you can empathize and feel that pain too, and out of that empathy experience to know what to do in the situation and out of compassion help by suggesting or assuming I've cut mine before and grabbed a paper towel and hand it instead. you could just do that instead of tell someone to take care of it themselves with instructions, what if I had never cut my finger before and you just handed me a paper towel without assuming? you could then from your experience, easily see if I was applying pressure to stop the bleeding, and give advice from it.

That's all experience is good for... knowing what to do if you are in the same situation again, or understanding how to help when it happens to someone else. Self sacrifice is helping someone either avoid the situation "let me cut the vegetables while you gather the spices and heat the pan" or wisdom so they can learn "careful holding the knife or vegetable like that, that's how I cut my finger."

I know from experience, the feeling of affirmation that can come from others recognition for a job well done. It makes one feel good it makes, one feel happy. I also know from self sacrifice how to take that blow by being the bad guy instead, because out of wisdom... I know that to lose that acceptance, one can feel depressed and miserable. It is a dark and lonely place, it's the same darkness bias and extremes lead to when one ends up feeling alone. That's the time to pray, or meditate see one's error that has led to that pain and apologize for doing what got oneself there. People are much quicker to forgive us than ourselves ever will be. Why? because of that ego. Because when many are wounded... they don't look to see what choice they may have made that led them there, instead to maintain this sense of self that managed to make them feel happy and blissful before from accolades, defends itself and lashes out even against those trying to help. It's like an animal with it's leg in a trap and you're trying to set it free so it quits suffering yet it out of ignorance tries to bite you or anyone else that gets near it to help.

Self sacrifice has enough love to take that bite to free the animal. Because, at some point and time they have been in the trap themselves and know how bad the suffering is.

At the bare bones of reality, the finger slice and the animal in a trap is no different. The trap is life it's what we are all stuck in, until we cease to be. If we run around only thinking about ourselves? We step in a lot more traps and blame everyone else for setting them, when if we were watching where we were going the traps could be avoided. This is called insight, and it leads to wisdom. But having one experience of something, is not full wisdom of that something. It's why some can say that is the worst thing you could do, and why another can say it's the best thing you can do. Which one is right? They both are but, that is only true for them. Both can try to make someone think they are, and then fight each other over who is right... while the person standing there thinks "maybe i shouldn't have asked?" while those arguing over who is right and who is wrong go unaided while the two egos battle it out in selfishness.

Life does not have to be as complicated as we make it or choose it to be. There was a lot in this world when we arrived in it, and as soon as we had the words? We started asking, and out of the myriad of questions we have asked or researched? Has made us into an ego... like we know the full story from having experienced only one side of it. If someone walked up to you you've never met or even seen... smiles at you and says: "you really suck you know that?" are you going to be mad or bewildered? Bewildered because you don't know what you have done. But if you know who you are talking too or have seen them before... you aren't going to be bewildered, you're going to be angry, and try to defend yourself because you know what you did and feel justified for doing it, or you can say "Oops what did I do now? I'm really sorry, I'm just trying over here, didn't mean to upset or hurt you."

I am sorry that making this thread, has hurt you... when it is meant to help people find happiness and still be able to maintain their responsibility and balance in the world and try to bring peace to it, away from conglomerates of greed. Not all are but unfortunately, many are and some don't even know it. Take care.