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Thursday, March 30, 2017
Jeff Desjardins — How You Can Build Wealth on Minimum Wage
I am acquainted with two types of people that have used the simple living formula.
The first includes people that are trying to make without any endowments. They have become successful in RE through "creative financing."
The second includes creative types that want freedom to pursue their creativity. Some of these have done pretty well after becoming established.
A third type that practices simple living includes those that want to operate in the cooperative or non-profit world. Their objective is not to build their own wealth but rather to build social wealth.
The main finding is generally there is a hidden capital endowment somewhere that they can leverage - short of living in the wilderness - and/or a hidden transfer from other members of society.
The minimum wage is not a living wage because it fails to renew capital fully over time. Unemployment benefit has the same effect.
So you'll find a capital run down over a lifetime. Or a depletion elsewhere.
A good example are the wood burners. Those who go into the woods to collect fuel for their fires. Obviously that suffers from a fallacy of composition - we can't all collect wood for fuel. It's insufficiently dense to sustain our population density.
The other one are travellers who leave travel sites in a mess. That's a transfer from other members of society that have to do the clean up.
Bogus article. Individual advancement from the bottom is near impossible. Aside from bad math - pay off your 22% credit card debt, $100 / year for clothing, etc., the entire concept is absurd. The whole system is set up to divide people, making it 'every man for himself'.
Cooperative living - sharing resources and responsibilities (tribe, community, co-op, commune, etc.) provides an environment with infinitely more support and possibilities.
Cooperative living - sharing resources and responsibilities (tribe, community, co-op, commune, etc.) provides an environment with infinitely more support and possibilities.
I don't think that the link was suggesting that the option suggested was from more than a few. Same in the cases of cooperative and communal living.
When I was exploring social and political thought, I investigated cooperative and communal options, too. Like the simple living alternative for individuals, these options work from some, but relatively few long term I'm comparison to the attempts, at least it in the US, which is a highly individualistic culture.
Tight-knit groups that survive over a significant period usually have strong leadership.
Groups come and go, but individuals committed to this do migrate among groups, so it is a possible lifestyle for an individual longterm. so I haven't studied this phenomenon is some time, so I am not aware of how it is working now.
I have said previously, as have many others, if one wishes capitalism to change, then adopt some version of simple living, get off the treadmill, and don't feed the beast. The reason that the wheel keeps turning is that people are addicted to manufactured wants rather than taking care of actual needs, their own and those of others.
That goes for the wheel of karma, too. Become a master of your desires rather than a slave to them.
Ignorance is mistaking the trivial for the important and taking the important to be the trivial.
Frugal living is an alternative to the rat race. It's not for everyone, just as the rat race is not for everyone.
"Building wealth" for what though? Retirement? The nursing home? Don't sacrifice your life for an unknowable future. As Scott Adams might say: "Simple living is not a goal, its a system!"
To pay all those medical bills because for forty years you filled your body with garbage from the supermarkets and lived under the glow of electricity.
Frugal living is compatible with healthy living :)
Simple living promotes well-being.
"Living a good life" implies simple living as prioritizing needs over wants. "Living the good life" implies self-indulgence as prioritizing wants over needs.
A deeper understanding of Life comes only through a deeper feeling for Life. A deeper feeling for Life changes, expands the consciousness – the vessel grows, the heart awakens, a song emerges. Mind slowly slowly slowly begins to understand. Face to face with Life, It is One, Simple, beautiful and majestic; Infinitely radiant, powerful - all else is fragmented. A spark of this One is our essence. The only cure to darkness is light. Therefore it behoves us to Light the lamp. And enjoy!
What else is there to do?
On the outside it too is simple. Take care of the vessel(s). All have the same Father. ROFL when people say Kabir was a poet. Make a little space so the seed can grow
I watched a David Attenborough documentary recently where he revealed through time lapse photography, vines lashing out at other plants to claim a space for themselves in the light. So, it’s in the cells, molecules and atoms (energy packets).
But turn around and ask, why does this question arise in me? Where does the question come from - in me? That’s more interesting. If Alexander the Great had asked that question, maybe he would not have marched all those soldiers up over the Alps to create havoc; and ended up (a little wiser) with empty hands sticking out of the grave. To display to people what he had learnt; to finally ... do something of service in the world. Because alone and empty handed we come into this world and alone and empty handed we must leave (unless we find something within ourselves that is real). So, where’s the intelligence in wasting OUR time and effort (being Alexander’s little soldiers), trying to fulfil some idiot’s idea of being dominant – when in reality when the eyes open – we see, experience for ourselves - it is all grand Illusion? Why are the Presidents and Generals any different to Alexander? Because our time on this earth belongs to US; no one else. Our 25,500 days. Death slices through ‘domination’ like butter; Time blows history away; while the statues gather pigeon poo in some statue graveyard for forgotten heroes (who in reality were illuded predators). Hardly anyone remembers more than a generation or two. Billions of us come and go on this planet and no one remembers. Dominant huh? On the earths’ clock, the Empires are like dust swirling in the mists.
There is a reality in a human being that exists beyond all of that. The significance is that we see domination is a waste of time and we, the people, tell the stupid political class 'IT’S A WASTE OF OUR TIME AND OUR RESOURCES YOU FOOLS'! This planet belongs to all of us – not just an elite. And, we have better things to do like caring for all of humanity. Building a better earth where people respect each other and peace is man’s greatest achievement. The earth is no longer to be used as a stage for the bulls of the earth to fight for dominance – we want to be human; civilised, cultured, educated, happy – not of the jungle. A human is more than capable of getting along with another human, given peace. A human's speciality is enjoyment. If the so-called Elite are so in to dominance, put ‘em in the ring for Friday night entertainment and they can fight it out between themselves. We, the people have to lay it on the line. It’s people who have to find their voice. Nothing will change until people find their voice and demand sanity. We all know peace is good for us; cooperation has awlays served humanity well. There are 7 billion people and only a few percent elite. Why listen to morons who turn humanity into a war zone or a factory, and kill our beautiful planet earth in the process. Rattle the conditioning.
The question arises in me because I know we have a choice. And I know I have to choose, stand up and be counted. If I want to be free, to fly – I have to cut the bonds. Flying, freedom, is never the issue; cutting the bonds is the issue. Humanity would thrive if there were peace.
But, there is a deeper aspect to this domination thing. It festers in the ‘original sin’ – separation. When one human being thinks they are different to the other. Without separation to leverage, the elite would have no power. The Buddha diagnosed for humanity the fundamental problem, and the pathway out. The Christ pointed out, as did the Gnostics, the scientific fact (which everyone thinks is poetry) of the ‘Fatherhood’ of that Universal Energy, the beautiful Divine; Its presence at the essential core of all human beings, and hence the ‘Brotherhood’ of man.
Not knowing how to look within, we look on the outside and see the differences of language, skin pigmentation, race, ideology, $money tokens etc. But look within and you will see we are all one Humanity. There is only one humanity and all of the divisions take place in people’s heads. Grand Illusion! People need to poke their heads up through the glass ceiling of differences and see who they really are. If you think I am being poetical you are wrong (I know highly educated people from all professions and social ‘status’ who know exactly what I am talking about; qualified, competent) – so it’s not just me saying these things. It has been said many times in human history and it is being said, more powerfully than ever before, today.
So where are the people who will say – ‘do you know what; these Russians and Australians and Chinese and Aboriginals are all my brothers. And I will treat them as brothers and respect them as brothers. I will listen to them and ask then what THEY want. And I will help if I can. And I will not allow anyone to hold a position of responsibility who does not care for my brothers’.
There are 7.5 billion reasons on this earth to have peace; and not one single reason why we should have war.
This is Intelligence. All else is gobbledegook. Please deliver us from experts.
Excuse me Bob, but I just cannot believe you are that innocent. (?) :-)
Over on another thread AP/John/Tom have been thrashing out the role of Empire. For me, it is very simple. The Law of the Jungle says ‘Big fish eat little fish’. The Law of Civilisation says ‘Big fish protect little fish’. Now, if I understand everyone, AP reckons the US is a big fish that protects select little fish (even though it may do some harm); John, loving colourful language seems to mostly agree, but recognises more harm and stupidity; Tom reckons it’s more like the Law of the Jungle (I agree).
For me – I set the benchmark as high as I can. Animals kill – because big fish eat little fish. Hu (divine)+ mans (manas –mind) do not kill because even when they are big fish, they do not eat little fish; they protect them. They are C.I.V.I.L.I.S.E.D. Anyone who tries to do both is either highly confused, or liar and sociopath. BIG FISH PROTECT ALL LITTLE FISH IN A CIVILISATION.
We are human beings. The essence of a human being is kindness. If you think you are an animal, then you have forgotten your essence. In this world we need big fish who are civilised. Conscious and protective of all of humanity.
The law of the jungle is an expression of biologically driven behavior. Can we say the same for geopolitics? Is it rational or instinctual?
The essence of a human being is kindness.
The essence of a sadist is cruelty. The essence of a bully is dominance.
Human beings come in many flavours, you don't get to cherry-pick.
In this world we need big fish who are civilised. Conscious and protective of all of humanity.
The American Empire fails that test. And the little fish who make up that empire are infested with piranha. We need to look elsewhere, at other cultures. Perhaps Bhutan?
Re. The discussion about the need for dominance begins around the 19 minute mark in the radio show. It was part of a discussion about the 'moral compass'.
Interesting conversation with James Livingston, author of No More Work: Why Full Employment is a Bad Idea. http://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/making-a-living-1.4005654/jobs-are-disappearing-and-to-me-that-s-a-good-thing-why-we-should-abandon-work-1.4005658
Am having a hectic week – shall check out your links over the weekend.
One problem is all of the little fish are ‘educated’ to try and become big fish.
Another problem is the ‘Peter Pan Syndrome’ (Bolly-Hollywood). Like Shakespeare’s masks, Peter Pan is just one face - the second one reflects 96% of the content on MNE and elsewhere.
The essence of everything say the Gnostics, is the Divine. Every atom, every being – including the sadist and bully. Without that Divine both sadist and saint, pauper and King are lying on the floor, composting; being recycled. So, there is something to think about there. A lamp is a lamp, no matter how fancy or plain, ugly or beautiful; it does nothing, no light – unless it is lit.
How does the knowledge of the Gnostics square with modern science, and the beliefs of the people?
Everybody’s ‘gnosis’, is based on their experience.
Yes. But not in a state that we would want to experience it.
ATP is a carrier of chemical energy. This article is a popular view (don't agree with the we create our own reality bit) of where Quantum theory is leading some people who are working on the outside of things; and curious about the role of consciousness on energy flows.
Without ATP you'd be lying on the floor, composting; being recycled.
Quantum theory can claim that everything is comprised of energy, yet the macro world we live in retains its familiar properties. Physicality is one of those properties. So when I feel the smoothness of a pebble I'm not perceiving matter in a solid state, but energy. When I feel a cold winter breeze, I'm not perceiving matter in a gaseous state, but energy.
When you feel ice you feel ice. When you feel water you feel water. When you feel steam you feel steam. Same energy in the mass but varying amounts. You are feeling the effects of the energy in mass with physical senses wired to a physical brain. Science deals with energy interacting with mass. Their frontline is relative mass - like a photon which is massless, but has momentum and direction. The Ageless Wisdom deals with mass on higher planes (emotional, mental, buddhic, atmic, adi etc) and the energy that animates those planes; it also deal with 'bodies' on those planes, with equivalent senses to the physical body; some of them 'rupa' (with form) the higher ones 'arupa'.
The atomic bomb exploded the myth of matter; but then science discovered after all the mass was converted into energy, there was still energy in surplus. They wonder where that came from and the transposing of the 'laws of nature' back to an unknown realm.
Then there is the little mystery of consciousness ....
We are like children playing on the beach Bob, building our little sand castles. In the dead of the night, when no one is looking, the tide comes in and takes everything away, and puts it back in its place.
The story of human existence and our little corner of the universe in which we live and move and have our being - is not over yet. Meanwhile everyone believes DJT and VP are the only reality.
I listened to the discussion about the moral compass, dominance, social control, privacy etc for around ten minutes.
For me, that’s mind. Goes around and around and around and around trying to solve problems that mind itself creates. If that treadmill doesn’t get you, ego will. Mind has absolutely no conception that the answer it is looking for is completely outside of itself. It has no way of even conceptualising to itself what it is looking for. It just has ideas about what it is looking for and what it should do. It problem solves all day long and ends up exactly where it started from. Someone in the Upanishads recognised this thousands of years ago, and wrote: ”The worldly mind is born in darkness, lives in darkness, dies in darkness” The thing that prevents us from acknowledging this is mind and ego. Ignorance cannot see itself.
People identify with the mind and with the ego, and they are stuck! Kabir described the world as two gigantic mill stones in which everything is ground up. These guys having that discussion don’t know it yet, but those two mill stones are waiting for them and their discussion. By then it will be too late.
It has also been said: ”What you are looking for is already inside of you”.
So the question is, how do you escape this ring-pass-not of mind, ‘go inside’ and find an answer that is just a single answer, but has within it many many more answers than questions; many many more solutions than problems. In fact it solves all of the problems of mind in less than a second: - getting mind to understand and accept the answer is the tricky bit – but practice makes perfect.
Well, for that, most people need a teacher.
Mind is like, you are looking for ‘Joe’, but Joe lives in another city that you have never visited and have no idea on finding your way around; and besides, you have no idea what ‘Joe’ even looks like. But you are looking for Joe. It’s not because of scarcity or dominance that you can’t find Joe.
And someone comes along and says what you are looking for is not like that; because it is already inside of you. You will know it when you find it. However, none of that is likely to strike you as interesting Bob if I (with respect) understand you at all. But, it exists .... if that little seed ever gets planted in anyone and begins to grow, then the possibility grows too. It’s a conundrum to the mind, but a light to the heart. Makes people ‘light-hearted’ :-) !!
But I wouldn't mistake them for PeterPan and fairy dust.
But you are looking for Joe. It’s not because of scarcity or dominance that you can’t find Joe.
These guys are looking for Peace. They are saying that scarcity and dominance are part of the reason we can't find Peace. Their search for a solution may be futile, but the problem appears to be real. Violence and war and their effects are real.
For me, that’s mind. Goes around and around and around and around trying to solve problems that mind itself creates.
For me, that is the definition of philosophy. Long on problems, short on solutions.
And someone comes along and says what you are looking for is not like that; because it is already inside of you. You will know it when you find it. However, none of that is likely to strike you as interesting Bob if I (with respect) understand you at all. But, it exists .... if that little seed ever gets planted in anyone and begins to grow, then the possibility grows too. It’s a conundrum to the mind, but a light to the heart. Makes people ‘light-hearted’ :-) !!
If I were involved in the dominance dance, I may be inclined to be biased. But I fail to see who or what a hermit can dominate.
But I wouldn't mistake them for PeterPan and fairy dust.
Am I mistaking such ideals as fairy dust? One should recognize the benefits and limitations of introspection. I've been diagnosed with SPD. I am a bland Peter Pan.
4% inflation adjusted return. lol.
ReplyDeleteI am acquainted with two types of people that have used the simple living formula.
ReplyDeleteThe first includes people that are trying to make without any endowments. They have become successful in RE through "creative financing."
The second includes creative types that want freedom to pursue their creativity. Some of these have done pretty well after becoming established.
A third type that practices simple living includes those that want to operate in the cooperative or non-profit world. Their objective is not to build their own wealth but rather to build social wealth.
#3
ReplyDeleteThe main finding is generally there is a hidden capital endowment somewhere that they can leverage - short of living in the wilderness - and/or a hidden transfer from other members of society.
ReplyDeleteThe minimum wage is not a living wage because it fails to renew capital fully over time. Unemployment benefit has the same effect.
So you'll find a capital run down over a lifetime. Or a depletion elsewhere.
A good example are the wood burners. Those who go into the woods to collect fuel for their fires. Obviously that suffers from a fallacy of composition - we can't all collect wood for fuel. It's insufficiently dense to sustain our population density.
The other one are travellers who leave travel sites in a mess. That's a transfer from other members of society that have to do the clean up.
Bogus article. Individual advancement from the bottom is near impossible. Aside from bad math - pay off your 22% credit card debt, $100 / year for clothing, etc., the entire concept is absurd. The whole system is set up to divide people, making it 'every man for himself'.
ReplyDeleteCooperative living - sharing resources and responsibilities (tribe, community, co-op, commune, etc.) provides an environment with infinitely more support and possibilities.
Cooperative living - sharing resources and responsibilities (tribe, community, co-op, commune, etc.) provides an environment with infinitely more support and possibilities.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the link was suggesting that the option suggested was from more than a few. Same in the cases of cooperative and communal living.
When I was exploring social and political thought, I investigated cooperative and communal options, too. Like the simple living alternative for individuals, these options work from some, but relatively few long term I'm comparison to the attempts, at least it in the US, which is a highly individualistic culture.
Tight-knit groups that survive over a significant period usually have strong leadership.
Groups come and go, but individuals committed to this do migrate among groups, so it is a possible lifestyle for an individual longterm. so I haven't studied this phenomenon is some time, so I am not aware of how it is working now.
I have said previously, as have many others, if one wishes capitalism to change, then adopt some version of simple living, get off the treadmill, and don't feed the beast. The reason that the wheel keeps turning is that people are addicted to manufactured wants rather than taking care of actual needs, their own and those of others.
That goes for the wheel of karma, too. Become a master of your desires rather than a slave to them.
Ignorance is mistaking the trivial for the important and taking the important to be the trivial.
Simple living addresses that.
Frugal living is an alternative to the rat race. It's not for everyone, just as the rat race is not for everyone.
ReplyDelete"Building wealth" for what though? Retirement? The nursing home?
Don't sacrifice your life for an unknowable future. As Scott Adams might say: "Simple living is not a goal, its a system!"
"Building wealth" for what though?
ReplyDeleteTo pay all those medical bills because for forty years you filled your body with garbage from the supermarkets and lived under the glow of electricity.
Frugal living is compatible with healthy living :)
ReplyDeleteFrugal living is compatible with healthy living :)
ReplyDeleteSimple living promotes well-being.
"Living a good life" implies simple living as prioritizing needs over wants. "Living the good life" implies self-indulgence as prioritizing wants over needs.
My little formula for Life is this:
ReplyDeleteLife is simple.
A deeper understanding of Life comes only through a deeper feeling for Life.
A deeper feeling for Life changes, expands the consciousness – the vessel grows, the heart awakens, a song emerges. Mind slowly slowly slowly begins to understand.
Face to face with Life, It is One, Simple, beautiful and majestic; Infinitely radiant, powerful - all else is fragmented. A spark of this One is our essence.
The only cure to darkness is light. Therefore it behoves us to Light the lamp.
And enjoy!
What else is there to do?
On the outside it too is simple. Take care of the vessel(s). All have the same Father. ROFL when people say Kabir was a poet. Make a little space so the seed can grow
Where does the need to dominate come from?
ReplyDeleteIs living in a state of scarcity an aggravating factor?
Where does the need to dominate come from?
ReplyDeleteEvolutionary theory and zoology explains. Dominance and submission is a characteristic of many social animals.
Is living in a state of scarcity an aggravating factor?
Competition for resources that are rival or excludable.
i.e. human nature
ReplyDeletee.g. women
Where does the need to dominate come from?
ReplyDeleteI watched a David Attenborough documentary recently where he revealed through time lapse photography, vines lashing out at other plants to claim a space for themselves in the light. So, it’s in the cells, molecules and atoms (energy packets).
But turn around and ask, why does this question arise in me? Where does the question come from - in me? That’s more interesting. If Alexander the Great had asked that question, maybe he would not have marched all those soldiers up over the Alps to create havoc; and ended up (a little wiser) with empty hands sticking out of the grave. To display to people what he had learnt; to finally ... do something of service in the world. Because alone and empty handed we come into this world and alone and empty handed we must leave (unless we find something within ourselves that is real). So, where’s the intelligence in wasting OUR time and effort (being Alexander’s little soldiers), trying to fulfil some idiot’s idea of being dominant – when in reality when the eyes open – we see, experience for ourselves - it is all grand Illusion? Why are the Presidents and Generals any different to Alexander? Because our time on this earth belongs to US; no one else. Our 25,500 days. Death slices through ‘domination’ like butter; Time blows history away; while the statues gather pigeon poo in some statue graveyard for forgotten heroes (who in reality were illuded predators). Hardly anyone remembers more than a generation or two. Billions of us come and go on this planet and no one remembers. Dominant huh? On the earths’ clock, the Empires are like dust swirling in the mists.
There is a reality in a human being that exists beyond all of that. The significance is that we see domination is a waste of time and we, the people, tell the stupid political class 'IT’S A WASTE OF OUR TIME AND OUR RESOURCES YOU FOOLS'! This planet belongs to all of us – not just an elite. And, we have better things to do like caring for all of humanity. Building a better earth where people respect each other and peace is man’s greatest achievement. The earth is no longer to be used as a stage for the bulls of the earth to fight for dominance – we want to be human; civilised, cultured, educated, happy – not of the jungle. A human is more than capable of getting along with another human, given peace. A human's speciality is enjoyment. If the so-called Elite are so in to dominance, put ‘em in the ring for Friday night entertainment and they can fight it out between themselves. We, the people have to lay it on the line. It’s people who have to find their voice. Nothing will change until people find their voice and demand sanity. We all know peace is good for us; cooperation has awlays served humanity well. There are 7 billion people and only a few percent elite. Why listen to morons who turn humanity into a war zone or a factory, and kill our beautiful planet earth in the process. Rattle the conditioning.
The question arises in me because I know we have a choice. And I know I have to choose, stand up and be counted. If I want to be free, to fly – I have to cut the bonds. Flying, freedom, is never the issue; cutting the bonds is the issue. Humanity would thrive if there were peace.
But, there is a deeper aspect to this domination thing. It festers in the ‘original sin’ – separation. When one human being thinks they are different to the other. Without separation to leverage, the elite would have no power. The Buddha diagnosed for humanity the fundamental problem, and the pathway out. The Christ pointed out, as did the Gnostics, the scientific fact (which everyone thinks is poetry) of the ‘Fatherhood’ of that Universal Energy, the beautiful Divine; Its presence at the essential core of all human beings, and hence the ‘Brotherhood’ of man.
ReplyDeleteNot knowing how to look within, we look on the outside and see the differences of language, skin pigmentation, race, ideology, $money tokens etc. But look within and you will see we are all one Humanity. There is only one humanity and all of the divisions take place in people’s heads. Grand Illusion! People need to poke their heads up through the glass ceiling of differences and see who they really are. If you think I am being poetical you are wrong (I know highly educated people from all professions and social ‘status’ who know exactly what I am talking about; qualified, competent) – so it’s not just me saying these things. It has been said many times in human history and it is being said, more powerfully than ever before, today.
So where are the people who will say – ‘do you know what; these Russians and Australians and Chinese and Aboriginals are all my brothers. And I will treat them as brothers and respect them as brothers. I will listen to them and ask then what THEY want. And I will help if I can. And I will not allow anyone to hold a position of responsibility who does not care for my brothers’.
There are 7.5 billion reasons on this earth to have peace; and not one single reason why we should have war.
This is Intelligence. All else is gobbledegook. Please deliver us from experts.
I posed the question here because the topic of dominance was brought up in this radio interview:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMbx0PXF_tE
A good portion of the ills of the world was attributed to this need for dominance.
I do not know the answers from personal experience. Dominance and bullying behavior is foreign to me. I can observe yet fail to understand.
”I can observe yet fail to understand”.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me Bob, but I just cannot believe you are that innocent. (?) :-)
Over on another thread AP/John/Tom have been thrashing out the role of Empire. For me, it is very simple. The Law of the Jungle says ‘Big fish eat little fish’. The Law of Civilisation says ‘Big fish protect little fish’. Now, if I understand everyone, AP reckons the US is a big fish that protects select little fish (even though it may do some harm); John, loving colourful language seems to mostly agree, but recognises more harm and stupidity; Tom reckons it’s more like the Law of the Jungle (I agree).
For me – I set the benchmark as high as I can. Animals kill – because big fish eat little fish. Hu (divine)+ mans (manas –mind) do not kill because even when they are big fish, they do not eat little fish; they protect them. They are C.I.V.I.L.I.S.E.D. Anyone who tries to do both is either highly confused, or liar and sociopath. BIG FISH PROTECT ALL LITTLE FISH IN A CIVILISATION.
We are human beings. The essence of a human being is kindness. If you think you are an animal, then you have forgotten your essence. In this world we need big fish who are civilised. Conscious and protective of all of humanity.
The law of the jungle is an expression of biologically driven behavior. Can we say the same for geopolitics? Is it rational or instinctual?
ReplyDeleteThe essence of a human being is kindness.
The essence of a sadist is cruelty.
The essence of a bully is dominance.
Human beings come in many flavours, you don't get to cherry-pick.
In this world we need big fish who are civilised. Conscious and protective of all of humanity.
The American Empire fails that test. And the little fish who make up that empire are infested with piranha. We need to look elsewhere, at other cultures. Perhaps Bhutan?
Re. The discussion about the need for dominance begins around the 19 minute mark in the radio show. It was part of a discussion about the 'moral compass'.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/to-boldly-go-the-inner-experience-of-outer-space-1.4049672
ReplyDeleteInteresting conversation with James Livingston, author of No More Work: Why Full Employment is a Bad Idea.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/making-a-living-1.4005654/jobs-are-disappearing-and-to-me-that-s-a-good-thing-why-we-should-abandon-work-1.4005658
@Bob
ReplyDeleteAm having a hectic week – shall check out your links over the weekend.
One problem is all of the little fish are ‘educated’ to try and become big fish.
Another problem is the ‘Peter Pan Syndrome’ (Bolly-Hollywood). Like Shakespeare’s masks, Peter Pan is just one face - the second one reflects 96% of the content on MNE and elsewhere.
The essence of everything say the Gnostics, is the Divine. Every atom, every being – including the sadist and bully. Without that Divine both sadist and saint, pauper and King are lying on the floor, composting; being recycled. So, there is something to think about there. A lamp is a lamp, no matter how fancy or plain, ugly or beautiful; it does nothing, no light – unless it is lit.
How does the knowledge of the Gnostics square with modern science, and the beliefs of the people?
Everybody’s ‘gnosis’, is based on their experience.
"Is it rational or instinctual?"
ReplyDeleteBoth.
Adenosine triphosphate. The Divine?
ReplyDeleteYes. But not in a state that we would want to experience it.
ReplyDeleteATP is a carrier of chemical energy. This article is a popular view (don't agree with the we create our own reality bit) of where Quantum theory is leading some people who are working on the outside of things; and curious about the role of consciousness on energy flows.
Mind is not the tool for working on the inside.
Without ATP you'd be lying on the floor, composting; being recycled.
ReplyDeleteQuantum theory can claim that everything is comprised of energy, yet the macro world we live in retains its familiar properties. Physicality is one of those properties. So when I feel the smoothness of a pebble I'm not perceiving matter in a solid state, but energy. When I feel a cold winter breeze, I'm not perceiving matter in a gaseous state, but energy.
When you feel ice you feel ice. When you feel water you feel water. When you feel steam you feel steam. Same energy in the mass but varying amounts. You are feeling the effects of the energy in mass with physical senses wired to a physical brain. Science deals with energy interacting with mass. Their frontline is relative mass - like a photon which is massless, but has momentum and direction. The Ageless Wisdom deals with mass on higher planes (emotional, mental, buddhic, atmic, adi etc) and the energy that animates those planes; it also deal with 'bodies' on those planes, with equivalent senses to the physical body; some of them 'rupa' (with form) the higher ones 'arupa'.
ReplyDeleteThe atomic bomb exploded the myth of matter; but then science discovered after all the mass was converted into energy, there was still energy in surplus. They wonder where that came from and the transposing of the 'laws of nature' back to an unknown realm.
Then there is the little mystery of consciousness ....
We are like children playing on the beach Bob, building our little sand castles. In the dead of the night, when no one is looking, the tide comes in and takes everything away, and puts it back in its place.
The story of human existence and our little corner of the universe in which we live and move and have our being - is not over yet. Meanwhile everyone believes DJT and VP are the only reality.
"Practice patience'.
@Bob
ReplyDeleteI listened to the discussion about the moral compass, dominance, social control, privacy etc for around ten minutes.
For me, that’s mind. Goes around and around and around and around trying to solve problems that mind itself creates. If that treadmill doesn’t get you, ego will. Mind has absolutely no conception that the answer it is looking for is completely outside of itself. It has no way of even conceptualising to itself what it is looking for. It just has ideas about what it is looking for and what it should do. It problem solves all day long and ends up exactly where it started from. Someone in the Upanishads recognised this thousands of years ago, and wrote: ”The worldly mind is born in darkness, lives in darkness, dies in darkness” The thing that prevents us from acknowledging this is mind and ego. Ignorance cannot see itself.
People identify with the mind and with the ego, and they are stuck! Kabir described the world as two gigantic mill stones in which everything is ground up. These guys having that discussion don’t know it yet, but those two mill stones are waiting for them and their discussion. By then it will be too late.
It has also been said: ”What you are looking for is already inside of you”.
So the question is, how do you escape this ring-pass-not of mind, ‘go inside’ and find an answer that is just a single answer, but has within it many many more answers than questions; many many more solutions than problems. In fact it solves all of the problems of mind in less than a second: - getting mind to understand and accept the answer is the tricky bit – but practice makes perfect.
Well, for that, most people need a teacher.
Mind is like, you are looking for ‘Joe’, but Joe lives in another city that you have never visited and have no idea on finding your way around; and besides, you have no idea what ‘Joe’ even looks like. But you are looking for Joe. It’s not because of scarcity or dominance that you can’t find Joe.
And someone comes along and says what you are looking for is not like that; because it is already inside of you. You will know it when you find it. However, none of that is likely to strike you as interesting Bob if I (with respect) understand you at all. But, it exists .... if that little seed ever gets planted in anyone and begins to grow, then the possibility grows too. It’s a conundrum to the mind, but a light to the heart. Makes people ‘light-hearted’ :-) !!
But I wouldn't mistake them for PeterPan and fairy dust.
But you are looking for Joe. It’s not because of scarcity or dominance that you can’t find Joe.
ReplyDeleteThese guys are looking for Peace. They are saying that scarcity and dominance are part of the reason we can't find Peace. Their search for a solution may be futile, but the problem appears to be real. Violence and war and their effects are real.
For me, that’s mind. Goes around and around and around and around trying to solve problems that mind itself creates.
For me, that is the definition of philosophy. Long on problems, short on solutions.
And someone comes along and says what you are looking for is not like that; because it is already inside of you. You will know it when you find it. However, none of that is likely to strike you as interesting Bob if I (with respect) understand you at all. But, it exists .... if that little seed ever gets planted in anyone and begins to grow, then the possibility grows too. It’s a conundrum to the mind, but a light to the heart. Makes people ‘light-hearted’ :-) !!
If I were involved in the dominance dance, I may be inclined to be biased. But I fail to see who or what a hermit can dominate.
But I wouldn't mistake them for PeterPan and fairy dust.
Am I mistaking such ideals as fairy dust?
One should recognize the benefits and limitations of introspection.
I've been diagnosed with SPD. I am a bland Peter Pan.