Consumerist [R]evolution
posted by Transcend_Reality | November 5, 2009
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IcerocketI find it harder each day to live in a world so much more different than the one I want to paint for myself. For so long we have all been conditioned to think and feel a certain way about things. While trying to diminish these thoughts of others it's like a battle within myself. As example: I run out of makeup and think " I need more makeup" then I realize I do not need makeup, it does not help me to live, and therefore I should not buy such a wasteful thing but yet that thought is lingering in the back of my head that society see's it necessary in life for women to wear makeup. So back and forth, back and forth I go. The type of conditioning also pertains to t.v, cars, jobs, credit, name brand clothes, name brand shoes, jewelry, buying a home, need for government, etc.
We have all been raised to think we need material objects to keep us happy though the significant flaw in this all is that what keeps us happy in an inanimate object, completely intangible. Yet we strive to find happiness through the spur of the moment shopping at the mall or the excessive buying at Wal-Mart. I am not writing this to point any fingers, because I too do this myself and it is how I can write so much about the subject. With all of this, I know I should be looking inside and I am starting to master it.
When trying to describe to someone my thoughts on issues such as material possessions and marriage, people look at me as if I am insane and I do not know what I am talking about...Perhaps it is them who do not know what they are talking about, and maybe I am insane. To me, we do not need a cell phone as necessity, or vehicle, or television yet we all have one. And as for marriage, it is a beautiful thing if your heart is in the right place, but one does not need a piece of paper to signify your undying love for another. Instead, you can have a small personal ceremony with one another without the marriage license and witness. That is what I intend to do myself. Marriage is a state of security and love, not to be a state of having someone tied down.
I guess what I am getting at is that we should all strive to get rid of material possessions that we do not need for the sake of living. One might say you need a job full time, but you do not need full time if you lower your cost of living via no car insurance, cell phone plan, mortgage, and credit card debt. All we need to truly survive is our intelligence, shelter(which can be made of earthen objects), and food( which can be cultivated). The more of us that band together to trash unnecessary objects, the more the world in which we live in will change.
So the next time you're at Walmart and think you need a snuggie, put it down and walk away. So "NO" to the consumerist market that which has been created for us. We can put an end to it, and Wall street for that matter.
Namaste,
Alex
Comments
word
— Nov 05, 2009
It's natural selection. The materialist consumerist adaptation is being falsified as we speak. Make yourself heard.
Graces on you
Let's do some Conscious Science!
Thank you
— Nov 06, 2009
Yellowseed is right. We are the ones to turn the tide and live by example and not give in to the greed and gluttony of the consumerist culture we currently live in. It is in our power to say "NO" to the temptations of instant gratification and instead focus on what really matters and what truly makes us happy. We must live more simply, and through this simplification, we will find within ourselves limitless joy that allows us all to affect change and emanate positivity in our daily lives.
Transcend_Reality, thank you for letting your voice be heard, because the more of us that voice this opinion, the more conscious we all become. Peace, life, and love!
Righteous
— Nov 06, 2009
More and more people are discarding their belief in an outdated, unrealistic system. This blog reminds me of my own quest to be freed from the chains of consumerist slavery. I only work about 15 hours a week at a little restaurant and all of my co-workers who work full time are asking, "how can you be so happy when you never make any money?" There are a great number of reasons. I ride my bicycle everywhere, from home to work, work to my grandmothers, my home to the YMCA to go swimming and sauna, I ride my bike in to the city nearby to visit my aunt at her spiritual community. I ride and ride and ride, and the happiness and fulfillment it brings me could never be purchased with money, plus it's good for me. I may live with my mom, but it is a great chance to reconnect and expand my relationship with her, and I completely agree on the marriage, insofar as I can not help but be amused by the "same-sex marriage" debate, why would anybody care? You got it, simply because they can GET more benefits, more tax breaks, it feeds their greed. Listen to me, pointing verbal fingers, projecting and all. Continue looking within, it will bear much fruit.
"Soon we'll find out who is the real revolutionaries." -- Robert Nesta Marley
totally can relate
— Nov 06, 2009
While I have been tempted by the snuggie.. (NOT!!! ;>P)
I have decided that my hand crocheted wrap is much nicer.....
(I LOVE Bill Maher's mockery of the snuggie....)
I have been desperately trying to pare down my life. It isn't easy
But I realise that having more stuff as a single person
is making my life harder.. not easier.
I still buy stuff.. a lot of times though.. it is because
it is a conscious purchasing decision that
will allow me to let go of a less efficient or lower quality
item. I am more conscious about what quality items I DO
purchase.. I buy something better quality reusable etc..
to replace the 20 other things that were crap!...
It is a process.
As for the make up... I still will buy makeup. NOT because
a cultural demand.. but because I DO look like crap if
I don't have cover up and at least mascara on... It's awful
I know.. But I seriously look worn out and tired..
Cell phone... I can justify a cell phone say.. over a land line..
They are convenient. If you DON't abuse them and use them
responsible (like computers, cars etc..) they are TOOLS
But most consumer items treat these TOOLs like assessories to your life
You have to have the prettiest, fanciest, newest.. rather than using it
as a TOOL to help make your life easier.
Consumer items are created like CRAP so you have to end up replaceing
them every few years anyway.. That isn't OUR fault.. that was a design..
planned obselescance.
I almost bought a new sewing machine recently.. SO . I could SEW all my own
clothes. I had an older singer... still worked.. but simple.. I chose to stick with that
(as the one I did buy broke down after a few hours of owning it!)
I am hoping I will get out an make better clothes that I like.. rather than
buying crap clothese that is currently "in fashion" but is cheaply made.
I also knit... plan to learn to SPIN wool..
I want to cook more..
So.. it is a process.... reorganizing.
living without all the crap
— Nov 06, 2009
living without all the crap we don’t need is one of the next steps on our never ending journey of evolution. We are living in a world that is addicted to material happiness, so to be a part of this world means having to play into the material scene in at least some aspects of one’s life. I love what you said: "While trying to diminish these thoughts of others it's like a battle within myself." I feel this way a lot lately. There is this burning passion in me that just wants to go "into the wild" and burn my social security card, my license, abandon my car and just throw myself into a free lifestyle. but it’s easier said than done. overall it’s important to remember the big picture and to understand that this is all part of our evolution. Cell phones, internet, cars, they connect us with our fellow humans and in doing so we have been able to share, discover, and grow as a web of interconnected beings. i believe that technology is catalyst for this coming consumerist revolution. An external display of our inner connection to one another. trust in the process, we will soon see the day where things like make-up, snuggies, and television will be a comical part of our long history. That being said, the change that needs to be made is not out there, its inside. Discussions like this are great because we are affirming with one-another that it’s ok to let go of the old material world and embrace the new earth to come.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world"
-GANDHI
I am so glad that so many of
— Nov 06, 2009
I am so glad that so many of you are able to connect with me on this level, basically reaffirming that I am not alone in this thought process, and it rocks! Brandon, I do want to get rid of all of my possessions and go into the woods. My partner and I resently sold 90% of our things, and moved into a sweet place that is fully furnished for very cheap. In all honesty once we were getting rid of our material possessions very quickly and promptly afterward we were rewarded with material gain. Now we live with all of the same tools we had before but without the strings attached so we can leave them later.
Caelidh, what I mean by us being brought up conditioning also pertains to the make up issue, as with myself I feel like I NEED mascara or concealer in order to look descent and that is because we have been conditioning to think we have to look a certain way, so I have given up on the mascara and only use powder and concealer, and hoping to eventually drop it altogether. I agree with you though that when we use things as tools it is much different than abusing the tools and making it apart of a necessity in our everyday life. We don't come with built in bluetooth on our ear lol although some act as if it had been there since birth.
I completely agree with you Tinh Man, happiness comes from within and somehow people percieve happiness to be by the amount of money you make. I am currently getting rid of things to lower my cost of living so I can be in a position like yours, fifteen hours a week and riding a bike. Sounds like heaven on earth to me! I am just so thankful for the comments everyone has posted. It is hard for me to communicate these things with my peers, but on this website I feel such an amazing connection, Imagine if we were constantly around people who shared our thoughts and were enlightened people...Pure bliss. Thank you all for being apart of my own personal evolution!
Brake the program
— Nov 06, 2009
Harry F Brewster II
We're the glue that hold it together! But there's a smell of thinner in the air
Rubber cements worst enemy! Once that thinner hits it goin down like a house of cards. We just got to reach back and pull that plug out of our heads and wake up from the program.
Awesome Perception
— Nov 07, 2009
I am ready to cut out the materiality of reality, I have thought the same way for so long, don't worry your not insane. I think more and more people are beginning to realize this. The Greek's had a common idea they said that reason was the avenue to knowledge. So I link it to the idea that there is little reason for our conditioned state of being, the only reason I find logical is control. The awesome thing is that no one controls reality, no matter how much they want to appear that they know something the people don't. Not the Illuminati, the masons, the Vatican. You need not to look any further than yourself all of perception is within you and all of darkness is in the mind. Slowly, but surely everyone will take a gasp of air out of the illusory bubble they were in and say, This is possibility, this is love! at least that is what I hope. So lets make it happen, because it is up to us.
trancend reality...
— Nov 07, 2009
im so happy to hear that you have made the leap. i am grateful for people like you and your partner, and all the evolvers who are taking the steps and following a path of truth and love. we are the change, and i am excited to be a part of this consumerist revolution. thank you all for your inspiration.
Materialism is a soft spot
— Nov 08, 2009
Materialism is a soft spot -- though it's under the guise as being impenetrable.
A friend of mine has been going through his house and downsizing. He had all these boxes upon boxes of memories he couldn't muster the strength to part with until recently. I can tell how much more clear-headed he is without so many objects holding him back.
Start with internal, work to the external, but never neglect the internal -- I've been going through this house and downsizing as well, though not to the same extent as my friend, because I live with my parents. You would not *believe* some of the shit I've found that is totally useless.
Objects DO have life to them. Why? Maybe because of the attachment we place on them. Why doesn't really matter, the truth is it's just plain hard to part with what we have... or even harder, to part with the idea of what we *could* have.
People will find themselves being divided on this, you'll see it more and more, and it's not something a person has to come right out and say for it to be apparent. When you were talking about how people thought you were crazy for thinking like this -- it's because of the attachment. It's there, whether or not any of us care to admit it out loud. It doesn't mean anybody is better or worse -- it just means we have different priorities.
There have to be other ways to express this thinking to people without looking like an insect. Hopefully we can all learn from each other and find good ways to express this sentiment without pointing the finger. Great post, take care
-Joanne
