All I Want for Christmas - Hope for the World

Dear Humanity,

It's at this time of year that I feel a special kinship with you all, whatever race, religion, colour or creed. Wherever and however you live, whatever you do, whatever you think and however you feel, I share a connection with you all and wanted to take a few moments to give a little message of hope this Christmas.

We were all created by the same Universe, the same forces of nature have shaped us all and we have all been crafted by our experiences - by the things that we remember and the things that we hold dear - we have moulded ourselves to become what we are. The things that we do for each other we also do for ourselves. It is by helping others and by giving some of yourself to enrich and improve the life of
someone else that you grow and gain so much more than you ever gifted in the first place. It is the things that you do that define you and fill you up with the energy of those acts, be it kindness or selfishness, positive or negative, good or bad - that is your choice to make based on what vibration you want to live at and the energy you choose to amplify within yourself.

In a year when so much evil has been shown to us on a daily basis please remember that every act selfishness, every terrible deed was mirrored and exceeded by the goodness of the human heart. Imagine the MILLIONS of wonderful acts of kindness, selflessness and love that have occurred all around the world, the things that never make the fear-circus. Remember the TENS OF MILLIONS of people, of various causes who have stood up for the things in this world that are MORALLY RIGHT and the social AWARENESS which grows every day. Remember that every change that has ever happened for the good of all started with a single defiant voice and that it is the choices we make TODAY which determine how TOMORROW will be.

The world is how we choose it to be and we have the power to rebuild this world as we see fit. In the coming year we will all have a profound choice to make in our own lives, whether we wish to live in a World of Fear or a World of Love. Whether we want to see the world as it is continue unopposed or stand up for the world that we know is possible with just a little faith and belief, because that is where it all starts. Beliefs lead to thoughts, those thoughts lead to actions and those actions reinforce the beliefs. Believe in yourself and you will think you are strong, thinking you are strong leads you to act upon that strength and acting on that strength makes you stronger.

We - as the people of the world - already have the power to change this world. THEY have lead us to BELIEVE that we don't have the power and because of that we have acted powerless. But we are Awakening, we are realising the true potential that we hold in this world and NOTHING can stop us now. We are UNITED, we are STRONG and we are ready to take this world back in the name of LOVE.

Peace Be With You All,

Namaste!

Fanfare for The Conscious

Glorifying Greed - Capitalism Brings Out the Worst in Us

Greed is Good. This is what any mainstream Economic "Expert" will tell you about Capitalism and Consumer Culture. In fact, the idea that self-service, competition and material incentives are essential to drive progress in modern society is the cornerstone around which the whole socio-economic system of today is built.

Many would argue, based on anecdotal evidence, that the monetary system is the only realistic way to organise society, because humans are greedy by nature and always seek power over others. However, I would contend that this assumption largely discounts the influence of NURTURE, while inflating the importance of NATURE in human cognitive and social development.

Society as Emergent Behaviour

Emergent behaviour is the tendency for a group of creatures to self-organise around a set of simple urges or drives. It allows relatively simple rules to produce very complex patterns of behaviour without any direct planning or management of the members of that group. Examples of emergent behaviour in nature can be seen in the way flocks of birds and herds of animals move together or how ants, bees and other social insects can produce relatively complex structures without any apparent pre-planning or top-down organisation.

Is it such a stretch to imagine that many of the behaviours displayed by humans in modern society are Emergent Behaviours produced by the formal rules and perceived imperatives of society? Is it possible that the Consumer-Capitalist structure of society itself could be responsible for many of the negative behaviours seen in society? Could it be that society encourages and reinforces the more negative aspects of the human condition over the positives?

The Rules of the Game

It is my contention that the structure of the world economy, along with the consumer society it
produces, is an amplifier of the worst traits of the human condition. A society that glorifies greed by using material wealth as a measure of success will inevitably reward selfishness, profiteering and wasteful hoarding of resources.Think of playing a game of Monopoly, which is a simple simulation of our socio-economic system. How many warm, generous and giving people have you seen turn into ruthless business-sharks in order to win the game? Their behaviour is dictated by the rules of the game, it is emergent.

Other more complex simulations of Capitalist Economies, with a more tangible sense of attached value, exist in the more modern realm of computer games. In these virtual worlds value can be attached either via "real" currency or by time invested gathering resources. The Verge recently printed an article about emergent classes in modifications of Minecraft which had a trading and currency system modification installed. Also, my own experiences in the brutal sci-fi simulator Eve Online - where destroyed items are lost forever and almost everything you can purchase has been found, built or stolen by another player - taught me that emergent behaviour in a competitive/capitalist system affects even the most humane of us, despite ourselves.
 
Although you may think the comparisons I have drawn above are weak, I challenge you to find an Eve Online player and ask them how real the loss of an expensive internet-spaceship feels. The time invested in acquiring the in-game currency gives those pixels a solidity that I would contend rivals the material and the in-game currency (ISK) actually has an effective, albeit one-way, exchange rate with real currencies. It also gives a stark example of the kind of behaviour that could be displayed in an unregulated capitalist society, as detailed in this article from the financial times online. Extortion, scamming and espionage are considered part of the norm in Eve, just the way the game is played.

The Bottom Line

In the digital age, the detachment we have from the source of money's value has increased further and the structure of big business means; that many of the highest earners in the management positions of big companies not only have low personal productivity, but are so far removed from the people they are supposed to be supporting that their role is little more than a title. Couple this with the whole idea of the financial markets and it's easy to see how people can become so extraordinarily detached from the damage being done by their quest for profit and material wealth.

The current socio-economic system causes us to express some of the worst traits of the human condition. When Greed is Good, it is "acceptable" to sell goods for more than they a worth, to pay the front-line employees of a company as little as possible and to engage in immoral market-fixing in order to gain more material wealth. While it may have driven progress in the world through competition, it has done so at a great cost to the environment, equality and our own views on human nature.

Fanfare for The Conscious

Sources

Finances Online: Income Inequality vs. Crime Rate
Non-Linear Effect of Wealth on Crime
The Verge: Problems with Capitalism shown in Minecraft
Financial Times: Hardcore Unregulated Capitalism in Eve Online 

Five Short Videos to Change the Way You Think

As it's the first of December and our year is into it's final chapter, I wanted to take a moment to share five short videos which I have found emotional, inspiring and thought-provoking. Their messages have touched me on a deeply personal and fundamental level and I find it prudent to share them with you today, at a time when so many are distracted by consumerism.

Christmas is a time when many celebrate their bounty, while so many people have nothing. A time which I enjoy simply for the closeness of family, the coming together of friends and the simple act of giving, be it a hug, sympathy, or simply the time of day - everything we do for each other without asking anything in return is a gift. Those who recognise the birth of a religious figure, of whatever faith, should try to remember the messages of love, tolerance and charity preached by these people.

1. Bill Hick's Message to Humanity

A rant about drugs and lack of objectivity in mainstream media turns into a profound spiritual revelation and a simple message about changing the world we live in.

2. Charlie Chaplin's Speech from "The Great Dictator"

Charlie Chaplin's speech which was featured at the end of his parody about Hitler "The Great Dictaror"and is one of the most emotionally touching things I have ever had the pleasure of being exposed to. Listen to the late, great comedian talking about the state of the world and the nature of humanity. As relevant then as it is now.

3. Howard Beale - We're in a Lot of Trouble (Network - 1976)

This clip is probably even more relevant now then it was back then, this clip has a telling message about the concentration of media ownership into the hands of the few and the power of the propaganda machine that is the mainstream media.

4. Alan Watts - What if Money was no Object?

The importance of doing what you love for your own satisfaction, regardless of external idea's of your level of success. Alan Watts' monologue speaks volumes of why our society has stagnated at this stage of mindless consumerism and increasing spiritual and intellectual malnourishment.

5. V - The Revolution (V for Vendetta)

Probably my favourite speech taken from fiction. V (the Protagonist), breaks into the government television centre and uses the emergency broadcast system to try to encourage an uprising against the oppressive police-state.

Just wanted to give you all some food for thought.

Fanfare for the Conscious