Have you Ever been Swept Off Your Feet?

In both cases – whether the bubble was inflated with positive or negative energy – the participants in the bubble are being swept away further and further away from actual physical reality and start to see everything either ‘extremely negatively’ or ‘extremely positively’ – neither experience is grounded in reality – because the physical is neither positive or negative – it just is what it is.

And Then You Crash – Meconomics

In this little series, we’ve been investigating the phenomenon of inflation, how we in our daily lives participate in ‘inflating our reality’ and so, how we are on a personal level participating in the same principles/dynamics that we see playing out on a bigger scale when it comes to inflation, speculative bubbles and financial market crashes.

Welcoming New Life with Living Income Guaranteed

Comfort, security and nurturing are all things we wish are present when a baby comes into this world. Yet, these conditions are not a reality for many babies, as parents themselves like these things in their lives. In Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu Natal province in South Africa, 3 to 5 babies are…

Humanity Washed Ashore

This was an excerpt of just one of the stories about the boy. Over the last few days, dozens have been written and published on various major news sites. What is more striking than the content of the posts, is the comments that are left on these articles. What is humanity’s response to such images, to such news?

Voting Fun – What does it Feel Like to Have a Say?

Now – before such increased direct political participation is a reality – let’s do a little test to see what it feels like. So – here are some mock-questions where you’re asked to give your input. Imagine that this relates to your direct reality (eg. your town) – and your answer has a weight that influences the outcome of the decision. Of course, in reality…

17 October 2015

Corruption – Broken at the Core – Pt2

This post is a continuation to

Corruption - Broken at the Core

I ended off the previous post with:

“So if we want to understand how ‘those guys’ can be corrupt and how to change it – all we really need to do is ask ourselves: why am I corrupt? What makes me choose self-interest over what is best for everyone? What do you think? What do you see?”

You will probably be able to relate to a sort of ‘instinct’ within you to protect ‘me’ from ‘everyone else’. We tend to place our self-interest before the interest of all because we assume that another will take part of our share, will take what belongs to us or even chip away parts of us for their own purpose. If you have a look, that which stands at the center of this instinct is our relationship with giving and receiving. We don’t trust that we will receive what we need, so we won’t give to others what they need, rather hoard it all, because otherwise we may find ourselves lacking.

In a world where there is actually enough food for everyone, enough resources to support everyone – why does every single human being experience the threat of imminent lack, so much so that in almost every decision and action the principle of self-interest will override the principle of the common good? If there is enough for everyone, then why do we feel there isn’t or may not be somewhere in the near or distant future? Because our access to the resources that are here, is defined by the most godless (or shall I say ‘the most human’) of creations we have ever seen: an unfair money system. It doesn’t matter if there is enough if your access to it is not guaranteed.

The very foundation of our relationship with giving and receiving has been compromised through our acceptance of a system where money is not guaranteed and so access to what each one needs is not guaranteed. I mean – think about it: the very resources that each one needs to survive are not accessible to everyone. And this is something everyone grows up with – our very lives are dependent on whether there is money or not. Our very lives are dependent on whether we receive a big enough share of the resources. When we are never really certain that we will continue to receive our basic human necessities, is it surprising that self-preservation has become our primary drive? Not only when it comes to money and getting food on the table – but in every single aspect of our lives. Because EVERYTHING in life in some way involves the need to give and receive. When our relationship with those two words is tainted, twisted and compromised, we’re truly broken at our core – inhibited to live life to the fullest, unable to rise to our fullest potential as humanity.

The proposal of a Living Income Guaranteed is then about a lot more than simply making sure everyone has enough money. It’s about rehabilitating our understanding of what it means to give and receive, it’s about laying down the chains we have imposed on ourselves, that have driven us to a version of human life that is scarcely worth remembering. If ever the human race is erased and a new species comes to inhabit the Earth and finds records of human society – they would describe us as the most despicable race that has ever lived, not even able to share and live in peace with each other, let alone with the other beings that dwell on this planet – because that is the only legacy we have ever created and perpetuated. The Living Guaranteed Proposal is a second chance, a shot at redemption – we’ve only ever proven what it means to live in fear and self-interest. Why not prove what it means to live with care, compassion, consideration and respect for each other? It starts with a living income guaranteed.

14 October 2015

Corruption - Broken at the Core

In hearing the word ‘corruption’ we almost automatically think of politicians, business owner, corporations and MONEY – more specifically: putting money where it’s not supposed to go and using power in ways it’s not supposed to be used. We think of all those people ‘out there’ doing it and how angry it makes us, because with THEM being corrupt, it leaves less for the rest of us ‘poor victims’. ‘If only there would be no corruption’ – ‘everything would be so much better’ – ‘how could they’ – well, I assume you know your own thoughts on the matter… Of course if we wanted to just keep reproducing the same thought patterns, there would be no need for writing blogs, sooo… have you considered the following:

What is it about corruption that makes it corruption? What is the essence or the nature of corruption? It really boils down to: acting in self-interest when you should be acting in the interest of the whole. When corruption happens on a ‘big scale’ – eg: when there is a lot of money involved, this really pisses us off, I mean: how dare they!? But when corruption happens on a small scale – then, it’s just ‘life’, ‘human nature’ or ‘only normal’. Just ask yourself and answer honestly: how much of your time do you act in the interest of all and how much of your time do you act purely in your own self-interest? You’ll find that most of the time you’re not even considering how your actions and words might affect other people. Does corruption only apply when it is done by people who are explicitly within positions of so-called responsibility? Aren’t we all always in a position of responsibility simply by virtue of us being here and the fact that we don’t exist in isolation of other people, of nature and of the animal kingdom – even if that’s how we have split things up and categorized them neatly in our minds?

So if we want to understand how ‘those guys’ can be corrupt and how to change it – all we really need to do is ask ourselves: why am I corrupt? What makes me choose self-interest over what is best for everyone? What do you think? What do you see?

Let's continue this discussion in the next post – in the meantime: ponder over these questions and leave your answers in a comment.

08 October 2015

Solitary Confinement – The Horrors of our ‘Correctional’ System

Even though international governing bodies have condemned the use of solitary confinement since the 1990s, it is still a common practice in many prisons all over the United States. Currently, an estimated total of 80,000 to 100,000 men, women and children are isolated in closed cells for 22-24 hours a day – for periods stretching from days, weeks, months and even years.

Reasons to place a prisoner in solitary confinement are not restricted to serious violations – talking back to a guard or being caught with contraband are often reason enough to be ‘put into lockdown’ or ‘thrown in the shoe’. Did anyone say ‘Milgram’?

There is a reason international governing bodies condemn the practice: because it basically amounts to torture. The physical and psychological effects are horrifying. Mentally sane inmates often come out of solitary confinement with serious psychological disorders, violent behavior and suicidal tendencies. For those who were already suffering from mental illness, being confined to isolation only exacerbates their conditions.

Is this the purpose of our prison system? To break people, to strip them of their sanity or push them further into misery? Does that benefit the prisoners? Does it benefit society when a prisoner has served his sentence and has to re-enter society as a less functional being than he was before incarceration? No matter the crime they have committed – if we sanction the use of torture – are we not criminals all the same?

We make a big fuss over the CIA’s torturing practices, but don’t realize torture is happening on a daily basis to thousands of people in our so called ‘correctional facilities’ and ‘judicial system’.

The Living Income Guaranteed Proposal is based on the principle that all should be able to live a life of dignity. All… that includes prisoners. When we treat people like worthless pieces of s*** - what is going to happen? Is it going to heal them? Will they find peace? Will they repent for past transgressions? Or will it make them into that which we treat them as?

In other words – if we want to be able to continue calling prisons ‘correctional facilities’ – we better reinvent them and do an entire overhaul of the prison system. Archaic ideas of justice need to be thrown out the window and central should stand the fostering of understanding and the correction of harmful behaviors. If not – let’s be frank and call them ‘torture facilities’ – but how can we ever hope to live with any shred of dignity if we stand for that?

Join the discussion on Living Income Guaranteed – take the world in your hands and ask yourself: What needs to happen for all to live a life of dignity? What needs to change? Changing what is here starts with formulating solutions. Do you have any ideas? Let’s hear it!