A wake up call
By Phil Golding
Today we count ourselves as an advanced society. All Western economically developed counties seem to include themselves in this definition. In the light of the state of the world, I believe it would be appropriate to ask ourselves some serious questions, and yet few people seem to be doing this. Is it because we know so little about what is really going on, or is it because we would rather not know? Can we afford to keep our heads collectively buried in the sand? If, by living in Australia you think you will be insulated from the potential global disasters that are looming on the near horizon, think again. Here is just a brief look at the current situation.
The most powerful leader in the world believes in Armageddon (the biblical story of the final battle of so-called good over evil where the "baddies" are annihilated and with great losses on the side of the "goodies" as well) and he believes he is on the winning side. The most powerful "villain" in the world also believes in Armageddon and he also believes he is on the winning side. Why do I only see losers?!
Most of the world's resources are spent on weapons of destruction to "protect" ourselves from each other. Why do we still have to do this? The so-called world's defense budget is more than enough to feed and house the whole world every day for good. Why would we need wars if we did that instead?
Nuclear proliferation is still alive and well. Now that terrorism and fanaticism (active on both side of the fence) is very much in fashion in the world today, there are more than enough people around who are willing to start pushing buttons - particularly if we believe in Armageddon - after all, aren't we just fulfilling our own "glorious" destiny?
Most of the world lives in poverty while a small percentage lives in luxury and possesses most of the world's recourses. A tiny percentage of the world's population possesses the major bulk of the world's wealth as well as the power to control what goes on in the world, and they keep wanting more and they keep getting it. What will this wholesale greed and shortsightedness lead to?
The current forms of Capitalism and trade competition benefits a tiny percentage of the world's population and exploits the rest. Third world countries are made to produce vast quantities of a particular product that is geared toward export, products that are of little use to them locally. They have no time to produce what would benefit them. In return they are given a pittance of a wage that just keeps them in poverty. We call this democracy and free trade - for who? What unrest is this creating in the world? What global resentment is this breading?
Industrial slavery has been allowed to become a world institution. The slave masters are the developed countries in the world, including Australia . We benefit from this slave trade every time we go down to the local variety stores. These stores have a wonderful variety of cheap goods made by third world slaves. How much do we have to tune out and how far do we have to close down our hearts to deny that this is happening? Recent documentaries such as "The Corporation" tell the story. Two more documentaries are coming out soon. The first is called "The Take" about what happened to the Argentinean economy (the same economic model that is being promoted in Australia ) and how the workers are trying to gain back the control of their lives and their livelihood. The second is called " Darwin 's Nightmare" about a typical situation of industrial exploitation of a third world community that has been turned into a hell-hole for the sake of the "economic growth" of a Western style economy. This is a typical situation. Of course, don't expect to see these documentaries in mainstream cinemas.
The world's atmosphere is increasingly changing. The most populous countries like China , India and Indonesia are just industrially getting into gear. The bulk of greenhouse gases have yet to hit the atmosphere. Global warming is becoming more and more evident and this is occurring far quicker than predicted. We are also breathing this into our bodies all day, every day of our lives. A myriad of disastrous possibilities could be triggered by this increasing imbalance of the very thing that keeps life on the planet viable. What will be the cost of staying tuned out to this?
There is much talk about the old-growth forests and how we should preserve them. It may be assumed that if we plant lots of new trees to replace the ones we are cutting down, everything will be alright. Think again. In regards to the oxygen producing capacity of an old growth tree compared to a newly planted tree of say 20 years old, it would be like comparing a blade of grass to the average large tree in your back yard. The Amazon jungle in Brazil is one of the greatest old-growth resources we have on this planet. It is being destroyed at such a rapid rate that we will see it mostly gone in our lifetime. It is estimated that it would take two to three thousand years for the Amazon to regenerate to its former glory. This presents a bit of a problem doesn't it. The same is happening in New Guinea . The same is happening in Tasmania . It has already happened in Queensland and continues to happen. Of course woodchip for making cardboard is more important than breathing… isn't it? It is interesting that we already know that Hemp (the industrial variety that is) is a far superior raw material for paper and many other products, and is far quicker and cheaper to grow and produce. There is no need for any old-growth trees to be cut down at all, ever. We have access to the easiest of alternatives right now. What are we waiting for?
Old-growth forests are being destroyed the world over further leading to atmosphere change and soil degradation, as well as the permanent loss of precious flora and fauna - we will never see much of this again - ever. This is a strange way to treat the only home we have and are likely to have for a very long time. Funny sort of behaviour for an advanced society!
Unhealthy farming practices driven by industrial greed and shortsightedness is toxifying and depleting the world's soils. In third world countries soils are being destroyed by vast populations living in a desperate survival state, a worse state than they lived before the industrial revolution occurred. We eat food grown in this soil every day of our lives.
Technology is evolving at an ever faster rate, from mobile phones that are now mobile computers and entertainment units and more, to the increasing ability to clone living beings. We are on a dangerous technological treadmill. For instance, weren't computers supposed to save us time?! What has actually happened is that it has enabled us to produce more material things faster and in so doing we have fooled ourselves into thinking that material or industrial growth also means improvement in human lifestyle. So we now worship and serve the industrial machine and we work longer hours to do so (that's if we want to keep our job) - I am still waiting for the benefits to the world at large. Here is an interesting equation: A society that serves it's technologies over and above its own health and wellbeing is doomed to destruction. A society that designs and utilizes technology to serve its highest levels of health and wellbeing is sure to flourish and continue to evolve. It is not the technology that is the problem, but the consciousness of those creating and using that technology - that is the problem. In other words, if a society is being controlled by its technology, it therefore is not in control of itself. So let us have a look at what is going on with that consciousness and why it is not in control.
Even though technology is rapidly evolving to the point that it is giving us all technological stretch marks, our moral and emotional maturity has barely changed for the last two to three thousand years. The majority of the world's population's moral codes are created and at least deeply influenced (more than you may realize) by religious beliefs that accepts a god that will toss you into eternal damnation if you don't happen to make him happy, or something relatively equivalent (even distortions of Buddhism talk of hell realms and uses fear and guilt to influence people). The reasons for being tossed into eternal damnation are endless and contradictory and vary from culture to culture. This means that one culture thinks those of another culture are not worthy of god's love and so on. This also is accruing with various religious groups within a given culture. We are also taught that we are not allowed to question this. Even if we don't believe in what these religious authorities say, these endlessly pervasive teachings radically distort what we believe about love and radically influence what we think we can do to one another. When are we going to start seriously questioning all this nonsense? When are we going start to seriously object to our society being structured on these ridiculously irrational and contradictory beliefs - beliefs that literally cause us to believe that our brothers and sisters can be classed as non-beings and treated in despicable ways? I believe that these beliefs are killing us. Are these the beliefs of an advanced society?
For instance, we think that we will solve the terrorist crisis by killing more people more efficiently. How about the world's most powerful governments admitting to the rest of the world how they have been systematically exploiting and interfering with the governments and economies of the countries of the rest of the world for the last 200 years in order to take possession of the bulk of the world's wealth? Perhaps this might go a long way to explain why a lot of intelligent people in this world are turning to desperate measures to draw our attention. Perhaps this is why they think we are the evil ones. And yet here we are standing up beating our chests in such a self-righteous manner. Who is good and who is evil? It's a bit hard to tell when one pulls the collective wool off ones eyes and has a closer look. Perhaps no one is evil. Perhaps we are all just confused.
Few realize that the medicinal drug culture that we live in is actually causing viruses to mutate into ever more deadly strains. We keep relying on drugs to do what the body can do for itself if given the chance and if the mind is given the right education. We have become so powerless in our thinking that we even use drugs to change our attitudes! I get emails everyday from organized crime operations pushing black-market medicinal drugs. Something is seriously out of balance here. Is this not an indication of a whole society that has become institutionalized drug addicts? Why aren't we any healthier? It seems to be going downhill. Is there anyone who hasn't been touched by cancer either personally or in someone close to them? It is like an epidemic. Why is it that I can't remember the last time I went to the doctor? I keep my body healthy by keeping my mind healthy - in other words I have learnt how to maintain peace and harmony within no matter what is going on around me. This is called developing ones consciousness. This can be easily taught in every school very easily. It has already been proven that the mind is not in the brain but collectively in every cell of the body - healthy mind, healthy body. I also have a reasonably healthy diet and keep reasonably fit. On the rare occasion that I do get sick, there are plenty of natural remedies that do the job perfectly well. Imagine what would happen to the health care system if everyone did the same - there would hardly be a need for one - maybe that's why consciousness raising is not encouraged, and even belittled by our doctors etc. This is hardly the intelligent thinking of an advanced society. Imagine how much tax payers' money would be saved by a widespread policy of preventative health that then becomes institutionalized into our society.
This list of world crises is by no means complete. Add all this up and you have a very rapidly compounding world crisis of the highest order. The nuclear situation, the virus situation, and the destruction of forests combined with pollution each alone are enough to end what we know as life on this planet. Add them all up and you have an extremely dangerous situation. The danger of the essential balance for sustainable life suddenly snapping causing world environmental and social events rapidly spiraling out of control increases every day.
Being comfortable in your own home no longer guarantees security. It is too late for that! We have already tipped the scale. The world is already on a downward spiral that only a collective proactive response can stop and then turn around.
It is time to wake up and inform yourself now. It is time to change the way you live now, not tomorrow, now. How much harder will it be for our children to do what we should be doing today? Will it be too far out of control by then? The world is your responsibility, not someone else's. How in-your-face do you want the world's crisis to get before you pay attention and act? Do you want even more obvious signs? Wouldn't such signs mean it is now too late?! Wouldn't this mean that the world as we know it has already gone?! This is a wake up call. The time for niceties is over. The time to get real is here now.
This is not a judgment on anyone individual. It is a matter-of-fact observation of what is going on now. If you feel judged then you may need to ask yourself why you need to hang onto what isn't working for the continuing survival of the human race and this planet as a whole. It is no good to have just a few people flourishing while the rest of the world degenerates. Is this not wholly self-defeating? I do not advocate making anybody wrong. I instead suggest that we start collectively and openly questioning what isn't working for everyone's benefit, because we are all in this delusion and are playing a part in perpetuating it to one degree of another.
Further more, we already possess all the solutions to all these crises!!! We just have to collectively insist that they be implemented and individually become the solution rather than keep being part of the problem. There are many things that we can do locally that will help to improve the situation globally. Here are some suggestions:
- Above all, raise your consciousness. If all that you do you do in the name of love and in the most loving way, you will have the most influence on anyone you wish to influence. Judging people and acting unkindly towards people only creates more resistance and adds to the problem. Raising your consciousness also gives you access to the ability to create solutions that work for everybody in the long-term. Everything you do is empowered by raising your consciousness. What we are doing now isn't working because the so-called solutions are being worked out by a collective consciousness that only perceives the parts and not the whole. The higher solution can only come from a higher level of consciousness.
- Get informed and then inform others. Send information to your local government representatives - help inform them. Question them directly when you don't like what is going on in the world.
- Simplify your life - get out of the rat-race. Stop being fooled into thinking that you need so many things to be happy that you become imprisoned by them. For example - many cosmetics, theater style TV systems, that next bit technology you don't need, the latest fashion that will change in the next season.
- Spend quality time with your children instead of buying them another present - think of how much that would save, particularly due to not teaching them that more things will make the happy - has it worked for you? What sort of society is this creating? How advanced is a society that spends its time energy getting more and more things and spends less and less time creating love?
- Support organic food producers.
- Support local businesses and produces in order to bring control back to the communities.
- Create community. Create ways to live cooperatively. For instance, there is enough mowers, edgers, washing machines and vacuum cleaners for everybody already. Start pooling. If everybody did this, there would be enough surplus of many things and materials to send off to the third world. The more a community supports itself and cooperates, the less industrial impact there is on the world. The creative possibilities are endless if the will and the right attitude is there.
- Recognize that wealth is not about how many material possessions you have individually. Sustainable wealth is about what a community collectively has access to that supports the health, wellbeing and evolvement of all in that community.
- The Inner Harmony School of Wisdom Philosophy is here to make a difference and to teach you how to be a part of that difference. We are particularly about helping people raise their consciousness. Come and join our effort to change this world or get involved in some other endeavor that has responded to the global wake up call.
GET INVOLVED - BECOME EVOLVED!
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