Monday, February 14, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Images of the Universe
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The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) and Companion Galaxy
Transform Yourself...Transform the World (summary of Naropa University's mission statement).
Missing my Naropa Sangha, teachers and students...
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
A Changing World
Our world is changing. We are dealing with population growth, climate change, economic turmoil and the depletion of our most relied upon fossil fuel (peak oil). Things must change, as we cannot continue living the way we currently do for much longer. Economic crisis and oil depletion are two things that no one can really argue against or deny. Some people don't believe humans are causing global warming and that's fine. The fact of the matter is our climate is changing, whether it's the result of human actions or not (which I firmly believe it is). We need to understand it and learn how to adapt. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established in 1988 to report on human-induced climate change, its impact, as well as address mitigation and adaptation. Governments around the world have climate change plans that many of us don't know about. I see more and more visitors at work every week who are coming to work on studies of climate change, mitigation and adaptation. A lot goes on that the media fails to share with the public. Things are changing at unprecedented rates, and scientists and governments know it. As more and more people realize that the current system is not sustainable and that our planet is changing, there are many movements and groups forming who are looking at and planning for what is going to happen when oil runs out and/or the world economic system collapses entirely. The hope is to make changes now so that we can avoid chaos and start putting plans into place in the present.
The Zeitgeist Movement (http://thezeitgeistmovement.com/) has come across my computer screen from several sources recently. I decided it was time to look into it further. This is a movement that is backed by the belief that our system is failing and we need a new plan. I settled in late one night and watched the full length Zeitgeist Moving Forward movie. It was captivating to me and I agreed with many of the ideas presented that argue how our current system is failing and is just plain corrupt. Here are a few concepts that really hit home for me:
- We live in a world of inequality. There are people in this world who have so much money, they couldn't possibly ever use it all and yet there are others on the planet who are starving and don't have access to clean water or shelter. The rich have huge bank accounts with millions of dollars that make tens of thousands of dollars in interest every year. At the same time, the lower and middle class people work to pay for things they can't own outright such as a home or a car and end up funneling their hard earned money to essentially flow back into the bank accounts of the rich.
- The amount of money that has been spent on the bank bailouts and on war could have completely revolutionized our entire energy system, giving us cleaner sources and could have given people across the planet the food, medicine and clean water they need to survive. Instead, money just gets put back into the economic cycle; one that generally does not contribute to society in a positive manner.
- Debt and money is a made up concept/game that is at the root of many of our problems.
Briefly, and to my best understanding, the Zeitgeist Movement supports the implementation of a resource-based economy. Rather than an economy based on money, it would be based on resources and making sure resources are distributed equally to everyone in the world (in the most sustainable ways possible). There would be no monetary system and through science and technology, we would track and conserve materials/goods in a way that is sustainable and would not deplete resources.
I agree that things needs to change and that our current economy will not hold up for much longer, especially as oil and natural resources become depleted. I like the idea of everyone having equal share of the resources on this planet. I question several things about this plan, though. In the movie it shows nearly everything being done by machines and technology. To me, something just doesn't feel right about this. One example given in the movie is that if machines were used for construction, injuries and deaths would be minimized and production would be much faster. Good argument. However, in my personal opinion, as more and more people rely on technology and machines, we begin to slowly diminish our own intelligence. We become dependent upon these things. What would happen if this system (Zeitgeist's ideal system) broke down? Many in the population would starve and chaos would ensue if something happened to the technology and we couldn't get food or rely on electricity. I just hate to see humankind become so dependent upon technology and machines.
The Zeitgeist web site specifically states that a high standard of living would be created for all. My question is who would set the standard of living? Population on this planet is an issue, especially when we are talking about giving everyone an equal share of resources. Population control would have to be implemented at some point in some manner. I would think that in order for this "resource-based" economy to be successful, the "standard" of living may have to be somewhat lower than what many Americans are used to. I firmly believe many of us have more than we need to be healthy and happy. I firmly believe that in order for this concept to work, our society would need to learn to be more comfortable with a lower standard of living; one that is comfortable and provides what we need to be healthy and content, but doesn't exceed that. Another thing I would worry about is the few tribal communities that still exist in this world and still live solely off the earth. Many of these cultures would not want anything to do with technology and just think of how many beautiful traditions and beliefs would be lost. However, in the grand scheme of things, I do see a lot of valid ideas in this movement and it is certainly better than what we currently have since it does seek to ensure that everyone has equal access to resources and it seeks sustainable ways of doing so. This leads me to another movement I have become somewhat familiar with and that is the Transition Movement: http://transitionus.org/why-transition
This movement also realizes we are in a state of crisis economically and environmentally. While this movement doesn't have a global plan that is the same for everyone, what it does is focus on relocalization or coming together within smaller communities to create smaller economic entities based on areas of community, the resources in that area, etc. This plan encourages building bridges with local government entities, rather than creating a completely new system. It encourages community building and essentially relying on one another in small localized groups. It includes the concept of the "great reskilling" which brings us back to learning the skills that our ancestors had when it comes to farming, living off of the land and supporting oneself within a local community, rather than relying on skills and materials from miles and sometimes oceans away. I am drawn to this concept, because it puts us back in a small community learning how to survive off our local bioregion and it focuses on working together to be successful. Not everyone has to learn everything, but each person does their part to the benefit of the whole. This system generally advises coming up with a new type of exchange/monetary system in each community. I really like this movement and the way of putting the "power" into the hands of the people so that communities can keep their own values/aspects that make them a unique community. They also have what they call a "heart and soul" component which provides psychological and spiritual support for communities as we go through challenging changes as a society. I may be biased, having a masters degree in transpersonal psychology/ecopsychology, but I think this is very important in fostering a healthy community as well as a reconnection between earth and human, which is essentially lost in a technology-driven culture. I feel this connection to the earth and to each other is important if we are to stop harming our planet and each other.
I see that both the Zeitgeist and the Transition Movements have overlapping ideas. I think the ideal approach would combine aspects of both. I feel that it is very important to keep ourselves connected with the earth and each other. While technology is beneficial, I believe it also causes us to lose a part of ourselves. It tends to alienate people from each other and people tend to seek comfort through technological means. I believe any model for the future needs to incorporate ideas and ways of living that our ancestors experienced. There is great wisdom and sustainability in that as well. At the same time, I realize that it may be very difficult for mankind to ever step backwards and move away from technology (which does have many benefits) and to a more simple way of living. Technology is needed to a point in order for us to live comfortable and healthy lives.
I truly believe I will see huge changes in my lifetime, and I'm interested to see how things evolve. It's comforting to know that such movements as Zeitgeist and Transition are being formed. People realize things are going to have to change eventually and are thinking about what needs to be done to make the transition as peaceful and painless as possible.
The Zeitgeist Movement (http://thezeitgeistmovement.com/) has come across my computer screen from several sources recently. I decided it was time to look into it further. This is a movement that is backed by the belief that our system is failing and we need a new plan. I settled in late one night and watched the full length Zeitgeist Moving Forward movie. It was captivating to me and I agreed with many of the ideas presented that argue how our current system is failing and is just plain corrupt. Here are a few concepts that really hit home for me:
- We live in a world of inequality. There are people in this world who have so much money, they couldn't possibly ever use it all and yet there are others on the planet who are starving and don't have access to clean water or shelter. The rich have huge bank accounts with millions of dollars that make tens of thousands of dollars in interest every year. At the same time, the lower and middle class people work to pay for things they can't own outright such as a home or a car and end up funneling their hard earned money to essentially flow back into the bank accounts of the rich.
- The amount of money that has been spent on the bank bailouts and on war could have completely revolutionized our entire energy system, giving us cleaner sources and could have given people across the planet the food, medicine and clean water they need to survive. Instead, money just gets put back into the economic cycle; one that generally does not contribute to society in a positive manner.
- Debt and money is a made up concept/game that is at the root of many of our problems.
Briefly, and to my best understanding, the Zeitgeist Movement supports the implementation of a resource-based economy. Rather than an economy based on money, it would be based on resources and making sure resources are distributed equally to everyone in the world (in the most sustainable ways possible). There would be no monetary system and through science and technology, we would track and conserve materials/goods in a way that is sustainable and would not deplete resources.
I agree that things needs to change and that our current economy will not hold up for much longer, especially as oil and natural resources become depleted. I like the idea of everyone having equal share of the resources on this planet. I question several things about this plan, though. In the movie it shows nearly everything being done by machines and technology. To me, something just doesn't feel right about this. One example given in the movie is that if machines were used for construction, injuries and deaths would be minimized and production would be much faster. Good argument. However, in my personal opinion, as more and more people rely on technology and machines, we begin to slowly diminish our own intelligence. We become dependent upon these things. What would happen if this system (Zeitgeist's ideal system) broke down? Many in the population would starve and chaos would ensue if something happened to the technology and we couldn't get food or rely on electricity. I just hate to see humankind become so dependent upon technology and machines.
The Zeitgeist web site specifically states that a high standard of living would be created for all. My question is who would set the standard of living? Population on this planet is an issue, especially when we are talking about giving everyone an equal share of resources. Population control would have to be implemented at some point in some manner. I would think that in order for this "resource-based" economy to be successful, the "standard" of living may have to be somewhat lower than what many Americans are used to. I firmly believe many of us have more than we need to be healthy and happy. I firmly believe that in order for this concept to work, our society would need to learn to be more comfortable with a lower standard of living; one that is comfortable and provides what we need to be healthy and content, but doesn't exceed that. Another thing I would worry about is the few tribal communities that still exist in this world and still live solely off the earth. Many of these cultures would not want anything to do with technology and just think of how many beautiful traditions and beliefs would be lost. However, in the grand scheme of things, I do see a lot of valid ideas in this movement and it is certainly better than what we currently have since it does seek to ensure that everyone has equal access to resources and it seeks sustainable ways of doing so. This leads me to another movement I have become somewhat familiar with and that is the Transition Movement: http://transitionus.org/why-transition
This movement also realizes we are in a state of crisis economically and environmentally. While this movement doesn't have a global plan that is the same for everyone, what it does is focus on relocalization or coming together within smaller communities to create smaller economic entities based on areas of community, the resources in that area, etc. This plan encourages building bridges with local government entities, rather than creating a completely new system. It encourages community building and essentially relying on one another in small localized groups. It includes the concept of the "great reskilling" which brings us back to learning the skills that our ancestors had when it comes to farming, living off of the land and supporting oneself within a local community, rather than relying on skills and materials from miles and sometimes oceans away. I am drawn to this concept, because it puts us back in a small community learning how to survive off our local bioregion and it focuses on working together to be successful. Not everyone has to learn everything, but each person does their part to the benefit of the whole. This system generally advises coming up with a new type of exchange/monetary system in each community. I really like this movement and the way of putting the "power" into the hands of the people so that communities can keep their own values/aspects that make them a unique community. They also have what they call a "heart and soul" component which provides psychological and spiritual support for communities as we go through challenging changes as a society. I may be biased, having a masters degree in transpersonal psychology/ecopsychology, but I think this is very important in fostering a healthy community as well as a reconnection between earth and human, which is essentially lost in a technology-driven culture. I feel this connection to the earth and to each other is important if we are to stop harming our planet and each other.
I see that both the Zeitgeist and the Transition Movements have overlapping ideas. I think the ideal approach would combine aspects of both. I feel that it is very important to keep ourselves connected with the earth and each other. While technology is beneficial, I believe it also causes us to lose a part of ourselves. It tends to alienate people from each other and people tend to seek comfort through technological means. I believe any model for the future needs to incorporate ideas and ways of living that our ancestors experienced. There is great wisdom and sustainability in that as well. At the same time, I realize that it may be very difficult for mankind to ever step backwards and move away from technology (which does have many benefits) and to a more simple way of living. Technology is needed to a point in order for us to live comfortable and healthy lives.
I truly believe I will see huge changes in my lifetime, and I'm interested to see how things evolve. It's comforting to know that such movements as Zeitgeist and Transition are being formed. People realize things are going to have to change eventually and are thinking about what needs to be done to make the transition as peaceful and painless as possible.
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