Discussions

In response to the idea that the very air that we breath may someday cost us, I recently heard of a tax proposal in at least one of the fifty United States that would impose a green-house gas tax on individuals who ride bicycles because of carbon monoxide emissions that are released via breathing! So it would seem that in the race to compete for the almighty dollar that there is no limit to what individuals can conjure up in attempt to fill a void within themselves that has nothing to do with capital gain (albeit they have not yet realized this).
I am certainly not the most learned woman, but I have eyes to see with and a brain to think with. I was raised to think for myself.
At a mere 46 years of age, I am beginning my journey into true enlightenment. I have heard what thousands of preachers have to say. I have studied many religions. Yet, until I stumbled on the world of quantum physics, I have never come across any idea that so resonated with my personal view of we as individuals and the notion of the observer.
I am hungry for a truth that is not fabricated. I have done quite a bit of work on my own in attempt to minimize the materialism that has infested my life thus far, but I will continue to search for the ultimate truth, which I sense is right in front of me.

Tesla's demise is an excellent example of the methods and motivations for why people are discredited, ridiculed. It's unfortunate that many are content to allow others to do their thinking for them. I can look back on my own life and see how much the world has changed and it makes me wonder how much younger people might tend to think "this is how the world is". It makes me wonder how much of what I accept actually "is".

Televisions, and now a myriad of other devices - have become so much a part of our lives and experiences that they've become what water is to a fish; wallpaper. The truth is, we don't need these things to be connected.

As a marginalized person, I've been afforded a very unique perspective on an absurd world. It's baffling how much kids will spend on a t-shirt that says "independent". In my day, you'd've been called a poser. It's the same sort of doublethink that arises out of such things as Chase Bank using a John Lennon song to sell you a line of credit. In such a world, it's not hard to imagine that one day - air - the very act of breathing - might be something regulated and purchased as a utility - not unlike "clean" water. And people won't think anything of it.

And, yes - I do have some sympathy for Dustproduction's cynicism regarding spirituality. Many New Agers - especially the Law of Attraction crowd seem equally prone to the same need to acquire 'bling' as a sign of their spirituality as rap artists. The whole idea of materialism as a mark of spiritual growth just seems rather grotty to me.

The truth is, is that we are all born spiritual beings; it's not something that needs to be acquired and certainly can't be purchased. The idea that some people would trample another to save 10% on Tickle Me Elmo is a product of our spiritual emptiness. But materialism can never fill this void. So, put down the leaf-blower, walk to work - and quit the gym. Turn of the television, get to know your neighbours, and look at the stars. Worry less about what's in your wallet and more about what's in your own world. It's a beautiful, curious place that runs without batteries, or having to plug it in - and there's more variety in it than there is in all the department stores.

For me there is another layer to the onion that needs to be peeled away here. If our society gives more value to the concept of economy and profit it does so in the absence of a conscious belief system that would provide for life and harmony. A belief system that would provide as fundamental a foundation as nature.
Psychology divides us into an orientation of individualism, alone, afraid, and ashamed. That is the manipulation that is at the core, that is what leaves us angry or prone to the addiction of violence.
What is true for corporations now, "if your life gets in the way of profits, your life has to go: not the profits." was true to the church a thousand years ago. We called it the "Dark Ages" for good reason, the church was the only source of knowledge. God spoke through the priests.
We are similarly overwhelmed by life and our "purpose" as we were then, in our trying to understand the problems we have brought on ourselves today; over population, scarcity, climate changes, pollution. The priest of science speak in a language as mysterious as the latin of the church. Corporations translate the message of science into a pacifier for our needs. Our faith is weak. So we turn away from religion, and science, and return to metaphysical superstitions that cannot be disproved. But we are left empty.