Thoughts of a "mad" man, or just a fed up one?

Originally posted by BlackOps719

People are no longer polite or helpful, it is all about ME ME ME and materialism and what can I get from you. Love thy neighbor has long since disappeared.

Country, God, service to fellow man, family unity, loyalty, being part of the solution instead of the problem, all concepts which have faded away from the average American citizens mind set. Greed, greed and more greed now fill those voids. Our kids are being raised on McDonalds and being reared by video games and television sets. Morals and personal accountability have all given way to personal entitlement and personal gratification at any cost. People are starving to death in areas of this country while we deliver million dollar bombs to kill other poor people half way around the world. Meanwhile home foreclosures are through the roof, people are getting to the point where they can no longer afford to provide for their families and live in the same places that they grew up. We are becoming a nation of wasteoids, people who stand for nothing, people who serve no purpose, people who could care less if they live or die. THAT my friend is enough to make anyone depressed.

Every time I take a hard look at what this country has become over the last ten years, it honestly sickens me and makes me ashamed to even live here. And the sad part is we are supposed to be the shining example to the rest of the world. What a joke.

BlackOps719 yes I see this happening to a lot of people. ME is the central word, it's no longer "WE".
I am in a world of WE for some time, even if I was very self centered until not long ago
It does not mean "we must do everything together and share", it means more :"there is more to life than material stuff"
I also see many people who think this way. We have been greedy for thousands of years, someday it must go out of fashion to have stuff, to have "power" and so on.

Ryokan, a Zen master, lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing to steal.

Ryokan returned and caught him. "You have come a long way to visit me," he told the prowler, "and you should not return empty-handed. Please take my clothes as a gift."

The thief was bewildered. He took the clothes and slunk away.

Ryoken sat naked, watching the moon. "Poor fellow," he mused, "I wish I could have given him this beautiful moon."

www.ashidakim.com...

I would like to see stories like these taught in school. But then imagine the world economy functioning without "consumerism"


[edit on 2-8-2007 by pai mei]

Originally posted by BlackOps719

spirituality is frowned upon, you are saddled with the difficult job of being a super consumer / workaholic. People in general have no empathy for their fellow man, the general nastiness of people these days is ASTOUNDING. People are no longer polite or helpful, it is all about ME ME ME and materialism and what can I get from you. Love thy neighbor has long since disappeared.

And BlackOP, I have to say that you hit the nail on the proverbial head..

It is amazing to see how people not only in this country, but around the world have just out of hand discarded spirituality in favor of mammon. It really is, as you say, "ASTOUNDING" to see how quickly people would rather believe in nothing than to risk any of their personal "belongings."

I will tell you something else that has long since disappeared. The GOLDEN RULE... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. No matter what belief system you have, whether it be some mainstream faith or a psychedelic belief system, this rule is likely to be a basic tenet of that belief system. Wait, hardly anyone believes in anything anymore. Never mind....

I think you are just frustrated by the choices you have. It is all ideology from the past. Nothing new to even consider. When people talk about a bright and golden future they are simply putting grand ideas based in the past on the future.
How to get from here to there? well it's impossible in the current state of our political and religious world leaders view and it can only get worse before it gets better.
Are you prepared to walk down the final mile with your sanity and your consciousness in tact? Could you possibly survive the coming years to grace the future with the innocence of the new era headed our way?
Don't get caught up in the diatribe of the current state of affairs and instead work intensely on your own consciousness. You are familiar with the 100th monkey syndrome right? Try remembering that and go forward with the same love and compassion in your heart into the coming years.
You may not be able to change the world but you can raise your own consciousness and by doing that you will be doing all that is humanly possible.

Originally posted by antar
Could you possibly survive the coming years to grace the future with the innocence of the new era headed our way?

Well, if you're asking whether I believe that I will survive what could possibly take place in the coming years, yes, yes I do believe I will. However, I do fear for many others because I am not sure that they will.

I agree with all the posters so far, concerning this topic. It's a truth I've known almost all my life. It's also somewhat scary realising it. Some may call it paranoia. I am paranoid...but the direction in which we are heading far surpasses just paranoia.

I have heard many people say..."Human beings are the smartest species on the planet." & I always wonder to myself..."If we are the smartes, why are we the most miserable?" Some may say that is a case of opinion. I believe it is fact. How many humans are satisfied with their lives?
How many of us actually like our jobs? But we have to pay the bills...right? Also...we try to find happiness in the things that bring no or short lived happiness; alcohol, a new satilite, a cool iPhone. LOL

It's rediculous. I remember an episode on Ripley's Believe It Or Not about a hermit. A guy who just got fed up with society's views and moved to a remote island with just the clothes on his back. Ofcourse, many people would call this man mad/insane. The ironic thing is, all those finger pointers calling this so-called mad man...a mad man, are probably pretty depressed, unhappy & empty inside. This "mad man" was asked if he was happy about his living conditions and happy about his...well, his life. With a smile on his face & pride in his voice...he said yes. He not just said it...he showed it. You can see that this "mad man" was truly happy.

Ofcourse he didn't have to pay bills & such. Some may call that a way of escaping your responsibilities, but he escaped more than that. He escaped insanity, depression & unhappiness. It also goes further than that.

Yes spiritualiy is important, far so more than religion. But few recognize this...and in my experience...few can differenciate between the two.

I clicked on one of the external images from the 1st post, the one with the crouching, severly malnurished child, and while I was watching the picture, Cassidy's Ima Hustla was playing...I started to laugh so hard I couldn't believe it. That moment summed up irony in a nutshell. It was sad, but true. Our priorities are gone...along with love for humanity.

That's the case...everyone's worried about themselves, which is not a bad thing. But few people genuinely care about the human race & this planet. They care about themselves and their families & other loved ones, which is good. But, those same families and loved ones, dont just live with you, they live amongst everybody else...on the same planet. A planet that is our home...& at this state, if something happens to it...or us...there is no running away from the situation. This is the only home we got.

The only things we have advanced in, is technology and chaos!

God bless this planet, I mean it...we may not be the most harmoniouse, the most advanced, or the strongest but we got heart....We are doing ok everyone....give us a thousand years and if we are still here we will be new prodigies of the universe. I'm telling you man, the universe is going to want to come here and like "get to know" the super stars of the universe. We'll be the pervervial boy band to the universe's girly girls. Long live earth! We rock!!

LOL Thats good stuff

the universe can visit my crib

and then ill pimp their rides



[edit on 2-8-2007 by ThaDewd]

Thank You for your well thought out, heart felt understanding of what really is the "Apocalypse". Materialism is the Anti-Christ. Mass Media is the Messenger. The current world we live in is the result. Everyone needs to stop waiting to be saved and open their eyes and save themselves.
Once we stop thinking there is nothing we can do, Then we will actually turn this craphole we've created around and start creating and healing
instead of manufacturing and killing.
Once again, thank you
Pretty wise for a thirteen year old, Post 1!

Great thread Speaker, thanks for your thoughts.

In some respects this thread reminds me of Descartes philosophy of overcoming doubt, in that you have refused to bow to the modern concepts prevalent in the modern, materialistic world we live in.

Instead, you have taken a more introspective look at what it all means on a personal level and then expanded your view to include other aspects of the world we live in.

The sensory perception of the modern age is that more expensive, more modern, better things, will make us better, happier people, and this is simply not the case.

I'll refer again to my belief that we have become a more secular society in that we are turning away from the concept of organised religion and back to spirituality - the need for spiritual satisfaction is strong, but we have long been denied this due to the various corruptions of man made, organised religions - it's like the difference between a big mac and a really good steak.

As you have pointed out, the world is at a crossroads, and only by making the right choices, can we advance.

agree totaly, but a wise man once said,existance is sorrow. understand, and go beyond sorrow. this is the way of brightness.'

Here Is What I Think Is Really Going On

Humanity is, at least in a sense, cleansing itself of the negative emotions that have been collected over the last 1700-1800 years. Everything that has occurred since about 300 A.D to the present, at least politically and spiritually, has been pretty impure. Now, that doesn't equate to it all being invalid, but it does equate to receiving the information through polluted, and yes, even diluted minds.

Cosmic Consciousness is consciousness of the Cosmos, it is the awareness that there exist other planets than our own, other suns and the Sun Absolute, and that they are the centers of a being; it is thus a consciousness of the body of God. (A.R. Orage)

***

Jean Toomer's Epiphany

Awakening

I honestly think this is occurring not just to certain individuals, as it has always happened in the past, but a multitude of individuals. Those that are actually waking up to the truth and the light will continue. Those who are not, or who refuse, will move or be moved to the side, sort of speak.

Originally posted by budski
Great thread Speaker, thanks for your thoughts.

In some respects this thread reminds me of Descartes philosophy of overcoming doubt, in that you have refused to bow to the modern concepts prevalent in the modern, materialistic world we live in.

Thanks for the compliment.

That may be the only thing I have in common with Descartes.

He was a gross materialist and in many ways, as far as I am concerned, his ideas have cased much harm to the spiritualness of the human intellect.

[edit on 3-8-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

Originally posted by newyorkee
God bless this planet, I mean it...we may not be the most harmoniouse, the most advanced, or the strongest but we got heart....We are doing ok everyone....give us a thousand years and if we are still here we will be new prodigies of the universe. I'm telling you man, the universe is going to want to come here and like "get to know" the super stars of the universe. We'll be the pervervial boy band to the universe's girly girls. Long live earth! We rock!!

The universe is already watching... Anyone who says we aren't being watched are only fooling themselves.

Originally posted by sdrawkcab

The only things we have advanced in, is technology and chaos!

True, and the pursuit of it is just making things all that much more hectic. Like I asked in my initial post, at what cost have we "progressed." At the price of our individual lives, for one.

We are living in a world where we don't even know our next door neighbor anymore. The days of people congregating at their neighbors house for a weekend barbecue or outing has been dead for at least the last 30 years,I know.

I can't once remember inviting or really being invited over to a next door neighbors house in my entire life. Forty of fifty years ago, that's what people did. Those days are gone.

Perhaps the eastern religions are correct, the material world is a test, a test that seems to be getting harder as time goes on. We are in a situation nowadays, especially in the west, where we have an endless need for money and the earning of money takes up a huge amount of time, add sleep to that and we have not much left. Not only that, but those who have enough money to not need to work usually by that time are so encapsulated in materialism that they don't use their time for spiritual development. Getting the balance between spiritual life and earning money is the biggest challenge we face in the west, we cant just buy a property and live off our land, because taxes etc still result in us needing money.

I must say I have enjoyed this thread very much so far, its nice to experience so many thoughful minds collectively sharing valid thoughts and knowledge.

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth

Originally posted by sdrawkcab

The only things we have advanced in, is technology and chaos!

True, and the pursuit of it is just making things all that much more hectic. Like I asked in my initial post, at what cost have we "progressed." At the price of our individual lives, for one.

We are living in a world where we don't even know our next door neighbor anymore. The days of people congregating at their neighbors house for a weekend barbecue or outing has been dead for at least the last 30 years,I know.

I can't once remember inviting or really being invited over to a next door neighbors house in my entire life. Forty of fifty years ago, that's what people did. Those days are gone.

Very much so, people are too involved in improving their material wealth or conforming to the trends of modern society to bother with each other. In reference to your earlier point about mental illness, I would like to add about the problems facing young women and girls these days. Commercialism has resulted in a ridiculous increase in weight disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, im certain there were not issue of this sort to such a common degree in the past.

Women see pictures of skinny models everywhere they look, they are brainwashed into thinking this is the only way to be and strive to be like these models. Its not just women either, men think they must wear certain clothes and drive certain cars, even act in a certain way to be "normal." People just want to be normal and fit in, conform, which is why people just let things happen that they don't really want to see happen. Stereotypes and social grooming have resulted in people not standing up for themselves anymore, anyone that thinks something isn't as it is told them is weird, or crazy.

Capitalism is the beast in disguise, the ultimate promoter of low self esteem, arrogance and self doubt, and destroyer of compassion and community.

Great post S.O.T.!

In regards to materialism your points reminded me of a study that I read that tried to equate income to happiness. Heres a quote from a similar study out of princeston:

"The belief that high income is associated with good mood is widespread but mostly illusory," the researchers wrote. "People with above-average income are relatively satisfied with their lives but are barely happier than others in moment-to-moment experience, tend to be more tense, and do not spend more time in particularly enjoyable activities."

It really makes you wonder how it came to be that we put possessions at the top of the happiness pyramid. Once the capitalistic ball got rolling it took everyone with it...and now many are left wondering: is this as good as it gets?

As strange as it sounds, I sometimes think that the world needs a major catastrophe to make people realize that there is so much more to be greatful for other than what we own. There needs to be a jolt to our awarenesses that wakes people up from the zombie choke hold that materialism has on everyone.

Some interesting posts..

I will say this, if you look at the current emphasis laid at the feet of "mammon," materialism, the problems in this world also beging to clarify themselves.

The war that is currently raging throughout th eworld is a war of gross materialism really, behind the guise of "spirituality." It is a war for wealth, power and excess.

Double post...

[edit on 19-11-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

Speaker I hope you have a renewed hope for humanity after receiving so many excellent posts to your OP.

I would like to enlighten you as to the modern missiomary movement.

I am what is called a short term missionary. I belong to no organized church. More like a free agent if it needs a name.

The missionary trips are conceived in the churches. The monitary cost is very high. We go to countries to actually do labor. During my last mission trip to Southern Mexico I pulled teeth, laid brick, despensed medication and cried alot. We were not safe. The government didn't want us there and the bandits were always a threat. There were a few young people but most of us were retired. I was very happy to have several ex marines along.

We did not sign on to spread the Word. We knew we were going to be putting our lives in danger, sleeping in less than comfortable conditions, and be exposed to all manner of disease and heart breaking moments. We signed on to work in terrible heat to try to make life a bit more barable for those less fortunate. My life has been changed forever after seeing the conditions so many people live in. Reality smacked me upside my head during my first trip.

Sometimes I believe every child at age 18 must serve as a missionary or join the military. How are the young people going to learn to be self supporting, have compassion and become people of integrity? We must become responsible adults and teach the children well. As always, the children of today are the future statesmen, police officers, and business people of tomorrow. They are the future. They will be what we teach them to be.