Chasing Nirvana

It’s a strange era these times we’re in. Perhaps life has always had that patina. There are so many ideas opening up to us. I’m glad to be free of the every-day work and grind however there is a dissatisfaction with my productivity, for want of a better word.  Productivity is beaten into us. It is what justifies our existence. Woe betide anyone who isn’t a “productive member of society”.  It is as much ingrained in me as it is in anyone else. I’m just aware of it where others adhere to the meme, oblivious of its affliction.   We all know what productivity means - the material results of a day’s work.  However where does productivity begin?  If one is to invent a machine, would days spent thinking about it be considered unproductive?  And how are we to know that what we perceive as trivial or unproductive at the time, isn’t actually the conduit that leads us to the treasure?

Sometimes I feel like asking god for help but immediately realize of course there is no god so it’s only me that can help me.  It’s a rather lonely feeling but conversely it impresses upon my mind the fortuity that is at my disposal.  I can create whatever I want.  I am not subject to the whims of an insecure creator who demands all sorts of strange things of us.  And therefore I take full responsibility.  It’s not scary but it is sobering.  However it is the best kind of thinking to train for the coming paradigm because it puts the power into my own hands and that makes me be the one to figure out how to get what I want.  The first step is to discover what it is that I want.  My criteria is that which would give me the greatest thrill.  (My morals are intact therefore I am past that discussion with myself).  I ask what is stopping me from getting what I want?  What is the genesis of that block? 

This takes stringent honesty with oneself, no pandering to insecurities or biases.  Sometimes thinking this way reveals those that weren’t apparent before.  It’s always exciting to find a new insecurity, as when brought to the fore, we can rearrange them or exhale them and open that space for something more gladdening. We are human so we are going to have insecurities and biases but as long as we are aware of our pitfalls and own up to them we allow ourselves that space to grow rather than to cover them up and hide them. The only one that can be cheated is myself.

Answering the question of what may be blocking me, usually reveals the internalization of an early experience or the repetitiousness of a later one.  For example, I’m beginning to notice I rush when I speak.  What is going on when I do this?  Answer: I am conscious of not “wasting” other peoples’ time; I feel I have to get to the point quickly in order to keep the listener’s interest; I feel concerned that I may not remember each detail and possibly cause my argument to not seem credible.  Underlying it all is the belief system that I am not worthy enough to take my time.  Insecurities cause pressure which leaves me feeling flat.  And that condition is the antithesis to juiciness.  I would rather expunge it from my being to be free of limitations and always be open to the myriad of choices that are available at any given moment. 

Breathe. 

That is the answer to everything. The Unifying Theory that so eluded Einstein.  Breathe.  So simple, yet somehow just taking in a deep breath, aligns everything magically. 

I am employing my own self in a great experiment.  We have had so much left out of the stories of our history that it’s anyone’s guess what we may be capable of and we rarely test our capabilities (unless we are athletes or the like).  Are we perhaps capable of curing ourselves by our thoughts?  Though only a hypothesis (for now) it may be extrapolated from the often-heard stories of those who have fulfilled prior intentions of becoming doctors, or circumnavigating the world in a sail boat, or becoming the world’s strongest man.  Serendipity is never included in business plans but it can often catapult a person ahead a few bases.  Planning does not include serendipity.  Should one stick to their plans even when serendipity pops its joyful head in? I experiment on myself only because understanding the unit gives insight into understanding human beings as a whole.  And in this new realm of thinking, life takes on greater meaning. But it is only the meaning attributed to it.  By the same token, one can choose to see no meaning at all.

Some other instances of stories being left out of our history are, the contribution of women, the geometry and purpose of the pyramids, and Nikola Tesla’s contribution to science and technology.  These are no small things to ignore.  How did such important stories get left out of our history?  And why?

Rarely do I give much thought to advancing my financial standing.  I loathe the current monetary system based on greed and I fend it off.  I do what I can to keep it out of my thinking as I believe it mediocritizes us.  When I can, I work for my food.  That kind of work is good.  It’s winter now and a long while till harvest and I don’t sell my writing because I never want to be beholden to anyone or anything and receiving a paycheck makes one beholden no matter how much one refutes it.  A feeling of obligation taints opinions.

I want to change the monetary system to a system based not on greed but on sequestering carbon dioxide.  Isn’t that what we need to do quickly and for the long-range?   Imagine if we minimized the use of carbon-emitting habits as conscientiously as we minimize the actions that drain money out of our accounts, such as keeping a taxi meter running.  We would minimize our use of fossil fuels if a cost were associated with its use and that is the way it should be.  Currently we can poison the world we all share and do it dirt cheaply.  You probably do it without thinking. 

That profligacy is coming to an end. The writing is on the wall.  Sure there are strong forces throwing all their resources into making us think otherwise.  Making us think that we can go on burning carbon dioxide into our atmosphere and dumping waste and all sorts of other earthly assaults but we’ll soon see that we have to change our ways. I have a whole system devised that incentivizes us to alter our habits…in a good way.

It wouldn’t be in a good way for some people - the one percent. But it would equalize them with the ninety-nine percent.  One percent is a miniscule number compared to the number left out under this Capitalistic system.  This system has no “safety net”, it leaves many out in the cold even though they may have enjoyed the fruits of the system at one time.

Online monetary systems are essentially already being used today to do our banking.  Why do we need banks at all?  The service they still provide is loaning money but even loans are being obtained elsewhere such as through crowd funding.  It used to be that money was deposited and held in banks in order to derive interest but that’s a joke today, often deposit accounts cost more in fees.  So in the resource-based system, each holder would keep their money in their own account and send it directly to the payee to make any payments.  There is no need for a middle man.  Isn’t that refreshing!

In a resource-based economy, it would not be dollars that we accumulated.  Instead we’d be accumulating carbon dioxide credits. Additionally, to create a system that met the highest ideals, the new “currency” would also include water credits. After all, water is becoming a scarce resource and a valuable one.  We need to conserve it and use it wisely.  We should reward those that do, unlike today where waste is rampant.  The monetary system needs to incentivize people to do the right thing, the “replenishable” thing, those habits are what would be the most rewarded.

It would begin by everyone starting off by being given a standard yearly amount of carbon credits and water credits, much like collecting $200 whenever you pass “GO” (as in the game “Monopoly”).  Usage would be tracked online and all data would be available for viewing such as your yearly usages which would be calculated from the daily or weekly or monthly usage.

Every product and service would have a “cost” by stating on the label the carbon and water rating so that it would look like the dollars and cents notation we use now (eg: 24.15) The figures before the decimal point would represent the carbon emissions rating and the figures after the decimal would represent the water rating. The carbon rating reflects the resources it took to make that product or to conduct that service and to dispose of it. Same would be true for the water rating, reflecting the water it took to produce and to dispose of that product or service.

The stock market would not exchange stocks.  Instead it would exchange carbon and water credits.  Any credits that were not used would be exchanged on the stock market.  Ways to increase carbon credits would be by doing renewable things like growing plants or using renewable energy or repurposing already-mined resources or to be childless. This would spur new industries that would make use of used resources including trash.  Being paid credits for repurposing trash, would not just be good for the world but also the individual.

Examples of ways to earn water credits would be by washing your car less often, or taking shorter showers or replacing the lawn with a native garden.

At any given moment we have unlimited choices. The monetary system is the driver of behavior.  Let us use our creative powers to devise systems that incentivize the right behaviors and advance those skills instead of the skills of over-indulgence and profligacy.  We have become stagnant, bored and almost anesthetized.  We need a good fire up our pants to get us into action. 

Einstein thought insanity was doing the same things while expecting different results. How are we ever going to know what we are capable of if we consistently spurn change?  We should not wait for  the laggards for if we do, we’ll go down with them.  Their folly will soon be realized.  The rest of us can start creating these system along the existing one.  We can cultivate and get the kinks out before we go “live”.  Game creators and technologists can incorporate these rules into a money game in order to practice using the system and to educate ourselves.  Sitting on the sidelines waiting for a system of greed to collapse from its own cumbersomeness will be uncomfortable however we will have something better to go to if we prepare a viable alternative.

In all honesty, another reason I haven’t sold my work is because I haven’t been all that productive lately.