Rethinking Money And Energy Exchange

As I reflect on money this morning, I realize how seriously warped my ideas about money are. It has nothing to do with greed or taking advantage of other people. Rather, my thoughts flow to memes I have incorporated into my being that limit the money and other blessings I allow to flow into my life. I realize I am my own worst energy block when it comes to receiving! 

The first meme that has created havoc in my life is the idea you have to put effort out in order to gain money. The meme in and of itself is not a bad concept. Life is about putting energy out and gaining it back in a never ending cycle. Energy exchange. That is the way it works. What is messed up is energy exchange as it relates to physical money. We have been taught that only certain actions are worthy of receiving money. The fact of the matter is, each and every one of us expends a good amount of energy doing things for other people, animals, the environment, etc. that we do not get paid for--often actions that are extremely valuable to life on planet Earth.

A good many problems in our world are the direct result of believing only certain occupations are worthy of receiving money for. If the energy you put out is not on the list of jobs that can earn income, you are considered lazy and good for nothing. Ironically, much of this can be the exact same energy output as what we actually do every day. For example, you get actual money for taking care of elderly people in the nursing home. However, take care of your elderly parent in your home fulltime and get nothing back in return (except the knowledge you are providing for someone you love). Is this right? Is this fair? Granted, it all needs to be done. My point here is, we expend positive energy and should receive positive energy back. We allow society to dictate what we can receive back. Blessings blocked!

Our beliefs about income earning jobs are also warped because we value certain jobs much more highly than other jobs. That's why workers at places like Walmart and McDonald's get paid minimum wage and high level managers at corporations get paid millions of dollars. The basic idea here is that "brain power" should be much more highly paid than manual labor. After all, anyone can do physical labor. Not everyone is intelligent. Right?

I'm going to call BS on this idea right now! We are all gifted in our own ways. If we are putting our energy out in the world in positive ways, shouldn't we expect to see it come back to us as a liveable wage? We need to become a people so conscious of our actions that we value the contributions each of us makes to society, even if those actions are currently deemed selfish--like taking care of an older parent or our children! We need to understand that taking care of our own families often has even greater value than taking care of people outside our families because we are also loving, valuing and honoring the ones we take care of! We need to understand that flipping burgers at a restaurant has value! We need to understand that collecting others' trash has value! Even a simple smile has the power to make another's day better! We need to be a people who understand what REAL value is!!!     

The next meme that has created problems for me is "Do no harm". While this, too, is largely a good meme, I am one of those people who takes it to the extreme. I want to be sure that the energy that comes back to me is good, untainted energy. I am very conscious of my actions towards others, animals and the planet. What creates problems for me here is my prejudgment of situations and potential outcomes. 

For example, in my part-time retail job, we are encouraged to have our customers apply for credit. For each person we get to apply, we get a couple extra dollars on our paychecks. I have very definite ideas about credit and indebtedness being the very institution that creates modern-day slaves. Consequently, I do not get all that many credit applications. I do, however, find it interesting how several of my young, high school aged coworkers get lots of credit applications. I attribute their success to the fact they do not prejudge the impact applying for credit is going to have on the other person's life.

What I usually fail to recognize when I prejudge a situation is that there are often consequences I do not anticipate. I do not know what others came here to learn! Maybe one of the lessons they signed up for was to face hardships when they got themselves into too much debt! The point is, when I fail to offer someone else a certain experience, I may not actually be helping them. I am also denying myself the blessings the situation may be able to bring me. 

Our world is seriously twisted in so many ways. We are here to help bring it back into balance. It is only by questioning the status quo that we can make the changes that benefit the whole. Money and energy exchange play such a huge role in our lives on planet Earth today. Isn't it time we rethought how it functions so that it is much more fair and balanced as well? By doing so, we have the potential to create a life of abundance and prosperity for all!

~CSE

The Value Of Money

I saw a meme being promoted in social media the other day. It was written to promote a conservative political agenda, but as I looked at what was said it dawned on me that is was based on our current system of valuing money--a system I believe to be highly flawed. Regardless, it made me ask myself some hard questions.

The post read as follows:

• FASCISM: The government orders you to give the fruits of your labors to others. If you refuse, the government arrests you.
• COMMUNISM: The government takes the fruits of your labors and gives them to others. If you refuse, the government arrests you.
• SOCIALISM: The government politely takes the fruits of your labors and gives them to others. If you refuse, the government arrests you.
• DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM: At the request of 51% of the voters, the government politely takes the fruits of your labors and gives them to others. If you refuse, the government arrests you.

It was obviously written to make people angry that their value/energy/money is being forcibly taken and given to others who "don't deserve it." My question is, if our money became worthless tomorrow, how would we go about getting the goods and services we need? 

The most logical answer would be to barter. It would be easy for the actual producers of goods and services to get the resources they needed. Farmers, doctors, furniture makers, etc. would be in the clear. What about teachers, social workers, and garbage collectors? How would all that work? I believe the powers that be want us to think it would all end up in chaos and that a state of martial law would have to be proclaimed. I personally believe humans are much better than that.

At the present time, there are people who give value/energy every day that do not get paid for it in money. Many caregivers take care of their own children or an elderly parent with no energy given back for it in return. What about the starving artist, who has talent but requires people with loads of money to buy his work? Should he be forced to use his energy in a job field that does pay money but does not use his talents? What such circumstances say to me is that our value system has gotten seriously warped. Why are we not allowed to use our gifts and energy in meaningful ways--in ways that make our hearts sing with purpose?

When we limit the value of money/energy with society's current norms, we limit who we allow ourselves to BE. Most of us go through life running on a hamster wheel, working hard but going nowhere because our energy/value/money ends up in the hands of a relative few. It often takes real creativity to build yourself a niche where you can get paid to do something you love.

It is time to think differently about what money is and what earning it should mean (as opposed to what it means at present). When we solve this problem, it will no longer be about having our energy/value stolen from us. It will be a mutually beneficial giving and receiving that will bring peace and prosperity to all.

~CSE

Seeing Beyond Chaos

I am probably as far away from understanding the stock market as anyone can be, yet even I understand that it is not business as usual. From everything I've read, the experts agree that chaos is being created in the usually free flowing system. It is only a matter of time until a crash occurs. This, coupled with my knowledge of rituals and numerology the powers that be use in their black magic practices, makes me believe this crash will happen anytime between this coming Friday (September 11th, 2015) and the end of the month, when the Super Moon eclipse occurs on the 27th. That said, I believe those of us who see the potential problems and chaos need to be coming up with solutions to get past the problems such a scenario would create.

There are several possible problems I can see happening in a stock market crash. The first would be the wiping out of people's retirement savings because of 401k's. The next would be the closing of large businesses that employ thousands of people--so big job losses. Depending on what such an occurrence would do to the banks, access to money could be limited or nonexistent. Those who don't have a good supply of food at home, or rely on food stamps, might begin to go hungry after a few days. There are other potential scenarios, but I don't want to totally let my imagination run away. I point these issues out in order to present solutions!

What is the solution to people's 401k's being wiped out? The fact of the matter is, the best solution is to rethink our whole financial system. Now would be the time to educate the masses about how the financial system really works! They need to understand that our economy is not based on the assets companies hold but on we ourselves being bought and sold like cattle. They need to understand that all corporate governments are designed to funnel money to their banker owners through taxes, fines, penalties, etc. They need to understand that money does not have to be based on debt but can be based on value (including their own), nor should it be created out of thin air. With this is mind, we can make sure the real wealth of the planet is accessible to all and not just those who would keep it all for themselves. It is not about saving for the future. It is about living in the present and making sure we all have what we need.

Another solution is for people to acknowledge we still have the infrastructure to do business as usual without needing the so-called elite to run it. We can still work jobs. We still have the supply lines in place to get food and clothing to the people. We can make sure people have electricity and water and fuel and internet access to do their daily activities. We only need to see beyond the programming of ownership and realize we have the power to take these things into our own hands (and we can even do it without violence). I'm hoping this is the time Obama will use the NDAA 2012 provision to take over vital resources to make sure people's needs are met. If not, we can do it ourselves.

In the midst of chaos, it is important to see beyond it--past the madness and past our programming. As awakened souls, it is up to each one of us to stand up in leadership and become responsible for ourselves, our families and our communities. By envisioning a positive outcome and a positive future, we have the ability to stand firm in the storm and become the anchors others need to transition into a glorious, new reality.

~CSE

Stock Market: Real Or Not Real?

As I write this, I'm watching reports about the falling stock markets all over the world. After a bad week last week, the markets are going down even worse. Everyone is wondering if they will miraculously stabilize or will we see another big bubble? At this point, it's pretty much anyone's guess, although I believe the powers that be still control what happens to a very large degree.

I want to play a little game: Real or Not Real, but first I need to give you a little background. What is the stock market? If you go back in history, wealthy men put their money into manufacturing businesses that could use common workers to mass produce goods more cheaply than ever before. Somewhere along the way, these rich men came up with the idea they could attract more money for investments by opening their businesses up to other people with money and selling "shares". They would then pay the shareholders dividends based on profits created by the business.

The idea began to take off. This was because there was a middle class with dreams of making their hard earned cash pay in ways they didn't have to work for. They too could make money off the backs of others like rich men did. Some of these middle class people did very well with their investments and became much more wealthy as a result.

The Great Depression changed many people's fortunes overnight. Suicides were common as people literally lost everything they thought they had "earned" with their investments. Ironically, most of the ultra wealthy people had managed to sell off their investments before the fall came (NOT coincidence). After the fall, they were able to buy huge businesses for pennies on the dollar and made even more money!!!

There have been many more recessions since then. The 2008 "recession" I have always called a depression because the effect was in many ways similar to the 1929 collapse. Huge numbers of people lost good paying jobs. Many lost their life savings. The ultra rich banks were given more investment money they could gamble with and lose. Today, we once again seem to be flirting with financial disaster as the markets once again take dangerous tumbles.

Now to the game!

Real or Not Real? 

1. Are the manufacturing plants real? Yes! They produce real goods to be used by real people!
2. Is the stock market real? Quite simply, no. Stocks are a bet that those in charge are going to make decisions that will make the company more profitable. There are no guarantees. While these bets are believed to be based on tangible goods, they are really based on money only. 
3. Is money real? That depends on how it is created. If it is created because you have some physical good that it represents (like gold or lumber or oil) it is somewhat real. It is still just a representation of the goods designed to make trading the actual goods easier. If it is created from thin air (like most of our currencies in recent years) it is not real. Fake money is called fiat money.

Now that we've played the Real Or Not Real Game, what do we need to understand about our lives as we know them?

The stock market is a tool of rich people to siphon money off of poorer people. While people are made to believe they are investing in real goods and services, these "investments" come with inherent risks. Investors don't get physical pieces of the company. They don't even get whatever product or service the company produces unless they buy it. Their "shares" have a monetary value that is pretty much always based on fiat money. Winning or losing often comes down to convincing other people you have something of real value to sell.

What We Need To Remember

All around the world, real goods and services are produced every day by people just like us. These can be traded and used by everyone so that we all have food, clothing, shelter, etc. The supply chains are already in place. We do not need company chairs and CEO's to provide ourselves with what we need to live on. The structure is there.

When our world economy collapses (and there is no doubt in my mind it will), understand the solutions require new ways of looking at the world. We do not need rich men to live. We need cooperation. We need each other. We are real!!! We are what matters!!!

Allow the illusions of the world to fall aside so we can create a new, real world together!!!

~CSE

  

Energy Exchange And The State Of BEing

I smiled as a kid. A lot. I was pretty happy, but I also knew the power of a smile. Smiles opened doors. A confident smile allowed me to walk in to any group or social situation and be accepted. There were also many occasions where I found I could pass along my smile to someone who was sad or in pain. My smile could make people feel better. Genuine smiles contain immense positive energy, and it was this energy I freely shared and accepted back from the people I shared them with.

My smiles were a form of energy exchange. There are many such exchanges we make with other people every day. We also exchange energy with animals, plants and even Mother Earth. Most of these energy exchanges we pay no attention to because we are not consciously aware of their value. However, there are many cases where it would be difficult to live without such exchanges.

Let me give an example. A cotton farmer plants his fields, nurtures the land and his crop and harvests this resource. The farmer expends his energy with this work and is rewarded back with a commodity he can then sell to a mill to make into threads and eventually into cloth and clothing. 

Our money system is a form of energy exchange. Typically we put in some sort of energy at a job (usually a thought process and/or physical labor) and we receive back cash we then use to pay our bills. The problem with this system is that it is highly limited. Only certain actions are considered worthy of money, and only under certain conditions. Much of the energy we put out into the world is never acknowledged--like my smiles--and never given a monetary value. 

It's silly to put a price on a smile, right?

The right smile can change the world! In my lifetime, I have managed to get smiles back from people who you would never believe had a smile in them! A smile can give hope, courage, joy, love, peace, acceptance. It can give another person that little something that helps them cope and move forward. In very real ways, smiles can give others much needed energy!

Sit back and think about all the things you do during the course of the day. Maybe you exchange a quick kiss with your wife or husband or child as you head to your job. Maybe you stop at the local coffee shop for a quick coffee and chat with the barista. Maybe you interact with coworkers in an effort to solve a problem that will propel the business further.  Maybe you make dinner for your family so you can spend a little time talking about their days. Did you share a smile or a laugh with someone? Did you do something to touch someone's heart? Did someone do something to touch your heart? How did you feel? How did other's feel?

Every day, we go about our lives without a thought to all the ways we give to others and receive from others in return. This energy we put out into the world is who we are--the very essence of BEing!!! Our BEing creates value in the world, and yet we don't get paid for most of it. We don't even get acknowledged for it!!!

Tell me. What is the worth of a smile? When we understand the answer to that question, the world will change in very profound and powerful ways! 

~CSE

    

Starting Over With Money

I'll be the first to admit I have a tendency to bring up the doom and gloom that goes on in the world. It is not a pretty picture. That said, I do not bring it up because I believe everything is bad. I believe there is a great deal out there that needs to be changed. I point it out in order to break people out of the apathy they have been stuck in for so long. Problems occur when we do not care enough to take control of our own lives. As the world we have always known caves in, understand this is an opportunity!!! When things break down, we have the ability to change them!!! We have the ability to start over!!!

One of the most important things we can do to get the process started is to think in different ways. We have been stuck in a rut which has gotten deeper and more difficult to get out of as time passes. For example, here in the United States we have been stuck on the idea of a forty hour work week. Way too many of us work jobs that do not make us happy (aka don't fulfill our heart's desires). We know something is wrong because our hearts tell us so! We continue to do the jobs we do because we are dependent on money to supply us with what we need. What if there was no money (or what if the money we had and had worked for was worthless)? How would we survive?

Before our present technology, people needed to do physical work in order to supply what they needed for themselves. They might plot a big garden, raise animals, and can food. Many of them made their own clothes or bartered or traded for what they needed. The built their own homes. Some of them had businesses where they supplied goods and services to others. Sometimes they were paid in things like gold. At other times they were paid in different goods and services. My point here is, they did not necessarily need money. Why did we need money again?

We believe money is necessary because we have been programmed to believe it!!! As technology advanced, we no longer have to work physically demanding jobs (or even long hours) to supply our needs. The deceptions that have taken place though are quite real. Subtly and behind the scenes, various jobs have been assigned monetary values. This is extremely important. At the same time, those things we need have also been assigned monetary values. This is where the fun begins. As we become more dependent on technology to supply our needs, the people in power have worked to control more and more of the sources of those needs. They control our food production. They control our clothing production. They control our energy needs. They control our medical needs. They control our entertainment (including what we call news). They control our education. The fact of the matter is, if they control all our resources, they control us!!! With all this control, they can then begin to artificially manipulate prices on what we can buy but also on what we earn! Eventually, they end up with all the money!!!

This is the same mentality that brings you CEO's of huge corporations stating that the world's water supply should be privatized!!! (Meaning certain people should control a literally life-giving resource!!!) It seriously doesn't get any more screwed up than this!!! Note this is the very same company that is taking California's lake water during the biggest drought on record for FREE and selling it for PROFIT!!!

As our current economy grows weaker, it is imperative we begin to think in ways new ways. If we continue to believe those who supposedly own the world's resources actually "own" them, what happens when money we use to purchase those things no longer has the ability to purchase them? Will we allow ourselves to starve, or will we force these people to give up their power and control for the survival of the planet?

The changes we require are dependent on a whole new way of thinking about money and resources. By asking questions and opening ourselves up to new ideas, it is possible for us to not only survive but also thrive!!! Starting over with money depends on changing your though processes. Are you up for the challenge?

~CSE

Rethinking Money

I had a very interesting and challenging discussion online last night about money after posting a Tedx talk about giving everyone a basic stipend to live on. It brought me back to my beliefs on money and why I believe what I do. I had to ask myself the deeper questions that I normally don't think about all that often. My bottom line is, I cannot accept the status quo because there is too much pain and suffering that goes along with how the world works at present. Much of this pain and suffering involves money in some way. It doesn't have to be that way. If we changed our perceptions about how money works and is supposed to work, I believe we could eradicate much of the pain and suffering that has plagued us. It is time to rethink money!

At present, money is not used as a way to measure assets. Money is an asset. In all first and second world countries, money is pretty much required to survive. We use it to pay for our shelter. We use it to buy food. It is required to purchase clothing and laundry soap and entertainments. Here in the United States, they prosecute people who try to get away with living without money. How so, you ask? Look at people who choose to live off the grid, especially those who live in relatively populated areas. They may live on well water instead of  tapping into the public water supply. Even worse, they choose to live with no electricity or have their own power supply through alternative means. (*Gasp!*) The "health" department will come in and condemn the property or some such thing for not being properly hooked up to the system!!! It won't even be an issue of cleanliness. Being connected physically to the system pretty much requires you to make money so you can pay those you have to be connected to. (The whole idea behind this is just a short hop from making it illegal to feed the homeless in your community.)

In many first world countries, acquiring money requires DOing. You work this job where you get paid X amount of money. You work this other sort of job and you receive XX amount. I have two problems with this concept. First of all, energy exchange is required in all jobs. You put in your energy and you get back money (which is supposed to be a representation of this energy) Why should certain jobs automatically receive more energy back than other jobs? Does a person really expend that much more energy DOing the higher paying jobs?

My second problem with money as DOing is that some people in this world are born without the ability to DO anything. There are people who live their entire lives in a vegetative state and must be cared for their entire lives. Then there are people who are limited in what they can do because of disability or disease (or ironically even because of poverty). These people have at least some ability to DO, but with our current value system it is often considered not very worthwhile.

This second issue comes with its own built in problems. When you believe DOing is important, you can justify the expense it takes to pay to support someone in a vegetative state. They obviously cannot do anything for themselves. It makes you feel good that you are contributing to their welfare since they can't DO for themselves. It's those others that don't DO what they could DO for themselves that get your anger up!!! Why should I be required to pay for someone by my DOing (by my energy) that those people should be DOing (exerting their own energy) for themselves? This is exactly where all the arguments for and against social welfare programs come in. Where do we draw the line at what is necessary and what is just waste?

For me, this sort of thinking does not really align with our modern, technologically advanced world. We have the resources to produce enough food for everyone on the planet (regardless of what you have been told to the contrary). We have the ability to eradicate poverty from the face of the earth--with minimal human output! Sure there are still people needed to produce food, clothing, buildings, entertainments, etc. If we have to be so focused on DOing, why can't three or four people DO what would now be considered one job and still get paid a living wage?

My preference (if we have to use money at all), would be to pay people for BEing. The difference here is that all human life is considered valuable, regardless of what they can actually DO! What is the value of BEing in a vegetative state? Maybe it's to teach someone else compassion, or patience, or unconditional love. In many ways, we all contribute to the planet just by holding our energy. (That's pretty much the definition of BEing.)

The irony of BEing is, most of us who are capable of DOing as well would indeed be DOing!!! Most of us would quickly tire of sitting around on the couch watching tv and eating bonbons all day!!! We'd want to be outside planting flowers or vegetables. We'd want to interact with other people at the store or in a factory. We'd want to sing and play and follow our talents and our dreams! If we didn't have to "earn a living"--if we didn't have to DO--many of us would still contribute our own energy to the world at large.

There is so much pain on the planet. As our voices rise in agony, understand that pain can be our friend. Pain has the ability to bring about change and growth. Understand that the pain will continue until we change ourselves to reflect new ways of BEing. Rethinking money--what it is and how we can use it more productively--is a great place to begin!!!

~CSE

Money Will Set Us Free!!!

This morning I am all worked up over the issue of money. It isn't my lack of it that I am lamenting. I am angry because the general population has no real clue as to where money comes from and how it is created. People think they know, and they come up with all sorts of solutions for saving our economy based on what they think they know. These "solutions" can't solve the problems because they don't address the real issues.

The fact of the matter is, we are cattle, sold into slavery with a price on our heads. Money is created through each live birth that occurs and is recorded by governments. Here in the US, our birth information is taken by the state and a social security number is applied for. This information is then sent to the Department of Commerce!!! (Yes, Commerce, not Health and Human Services!!!) Bonds are created in each name to the tune of millions of dollars and then given to the care of one of the branches of the Federal Reserve Bank. These bonds are traded for profit. Banks, corporations and governments make money on these bonds in our names!!! Each time we are involved in new contracts of any kind, whether it be signing a mortgage loan or a marriage license, new bonds are created that can then be traded. They even create new bonds when we are arrested!!! (Gives a whole new meaning to the term prisons for profit, eh?)

The vast majority of people on the planet have no idea this secret economy exists. If they did, people would probably rise up and demand their freedom.

The time is quickly coming when this knowledge will come to light. As the economic systems of the world begin to collapse, the illusions will also collapse. People will begin to ask questions about money they have never asked before. In doing so, they will allow themselves to be open to new information.

Money is the topic that will blow the truth wide open. It has been used and manipulated to hold us all in bondage. The irony is, when we come to understand this manipulation, money will also set us free!!!

~CSE