Zymposium 3: The “Consciousness†in Conscious Capitalism
Posted on Oct 9th, 2007
by 
Brian
Brian
Zymposium 3: The “Consciousness” in Conscious Capitalism.
--> See Julian's intro, Siona's post and Christiana's post <--
So, what shall I write on “conscious capitalism”?
Hmmm…
I have to say I’m much more interested in the “conscious” than the “capitalism.” Capitalism is really only interesting to me b/c, as the dominant economic ideology, it dictates much of how we live. Part of a much longer chat, but, at the root of it, I think it all comes down to how we, as individuals, choose to show up—the higher the level of our own individual consciousness—as both consumers and creators—the higher the level of capitalism we’ll see. (Obviously.)
I will say that I do not think that the idea of capitalism is inherently flawed. I used to, but now I see capitalism as a free market framework that allows me to freely trade with my neighbor. We could get into deep pedantic discussions on the subject, which I find very interesting at times, but usually I like to let Jeff Klein, Michael Strong and John Mackey from FLOW do that arguing for me. (I will say this is worth reading. :)
When Julian (thanks again for your inspiring dedication to your craft and to your commitment to empower others) invited me to play in his 3rd Zymposium (1 and 2), I figured I’d use a piece I wrote for a class I taught on entrepreneurialism (called AreteÌ & The Entrepreneur).
But that didn’t quite seem to fit.
Then I realized I was in a bit of a bind b/c I actually don’t really care that much about business (especially now that I’ve shifted into “student of life” mode) and I definitely don’t enjoy writing “traditional” stuff that much at all. Shit.
Shall I talk about the two roles we play in the conscious capitalism equation? The conscious consumer who votes with every dollar they spend? Or the conscious “earner” who does the work to figure out how to get paid giving their greatest gifts to the world? Or both?
Or, should I just have some fun and share some random ideas and see where it landed?
After a little creative wandering, I figured I’d throw this out there:
As “spiritual” individuals, we have a moral obligation to figure out how to get paid to give our greatest strengths in the greatest service to the world.
Yes I said “moral.” And, I said “obligation.”
Here’s how I arrived at that:
I think we’d all agree that the essence of “being spiritual” is to connect to spirit/source/etc.
I also think we’d agree that the embodiment of that connection, regardless of the road taken to experience it, is love.
And, the outward act of love is service.
So far so good?
So, if I want to live in integrity as a “spiritual” person, I will connect with spirit, live with love, and serve.
Yah?
Now, it’s the 21st century. Capitalism is unquestionably the dominant ideology. If we’re going to function within society, we have a practical need to pay the rent, buy some groceries and do other mundane material things.
Yah?
Now, in my opinion, if we take our spirituality seriously, if I’m going to have any integrity to my spirituality, I need to figure how to get paid to serve.
Fair?
My biggest gripe on this subject is that too many “spiritual” people can’t figure out how they’re going to “fit” into a capitalist society and then project that energy/frustration onto the system rather than into their own deeper self-inquiry. (Reminds me of Tolstoy: “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”) (And, for the record, I speak as an expert on the subject as it was out of this angst that I merged spirituality and capitalism to create Zaadz…so I’m keenly aware of the challenge…)
The next logical question (assuming we’re in essential agreement here), is, How does one figure out how to get paid to use his/her greatest strengths in the greatest service to the world?
THAT is where our moral obligation comes in.
We all need to do our own work to discover our authentic voice. And then, with the support of a community like this, courageously give ourselves to the word.
It’s all part of a much longer chat I wish I could have with each of you and what I’m going to spend the next chunk of my life working on. (See the first wave of the 1,000 “Big Ideas” I’m distilling as I lay the foundation for teaching a 21st century philosophy on optimal living.)
If I may, I’ll close with a random thought:
On Spending vs. Circulating
Why do we say we “spend” money?
That’s insane. “To spend” means “to use up” or “to wear out; exhaust.” It’s totally linear and pays no attention to the beautiful ecology of circulating money.
I don’t know about you, but when I buy a meal at a restaurant or buy a pair of tennis shoes or a new tire for my car, or whatever, I see the INCREDIBLY interconnected ecology of human beings that went into that simple purchase.
Pull the thread from any one of the components of a recent purchase and look at it. Let’s say you go out to eat. So, how’d that soup spoon get there? There are so many connections in that one object, it’s mind-boggling. Let’s give thanks to the person who set it on the table (as well as the person who made the table) and the person who bought it for the restaurant and the person who made the machine that made it and the person who packaged it up and the person who shipped it to the restaurant and the person who built the truck they drove and the person who built the stoplight and fixed the pothole and … and …. and…
That ONE item touched a remarkable number of people.
And what about everything else that went into that evening out?
Staggering.
It’s an infinite interconnected loop and if we took it far enough, that ONE meal comes pretty damn close to touching every person in the world.
So, I joyfully participate in that process with a huge amount of gratitude. And, I think we should call it “circulating” money from now on. :)
Ahem.
…
Julian: Thanks again for the opportunity to share some meandering thoughts.
And, everyone reading: thank YOU for participating in Zaadz and helping me discover my greatest strengths and how I can best give them in the greatest service to the world.
* looks for place for all of us to stand *
Group hug,
-bri
--> See Julian's intro, Siona's post and Christiana's post <--
“Some believe there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills – against misery, against ignorance, or injustice and violence. Yet many of the world’s great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant reformation, a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the territory of France. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and 32 year old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal. ‘Give me a place to stand,’ said Archimedes, ‘and I will move the world.’
These men moved the world, and so can we all.”
~ Robert F. Kennedy, 20th century US political leader
These men moved the world, and so can we all.”
~ Robert F. Kennedy, 20th century US political leader
So, what shall I write on “conscious capitalism”?
Hmmm…
I have to say I’m much more interested in the “conscious” than the “capitalism.” Capitalism is really only interesting to me b/c, as the dominant economic ideology, it dictates much of how we live. Part of a much longer chat, but, at the root of it, I think it all comes down to how we, as individuals, choose to show up—the higher the level of our own individual consciousness—as both consumers and creators—the higher the level of capitalism we’ll see. (Obviously.)
I will say that I do not think that the idea of capitalism is inherently flawed. I used to, but now I see capitalism as a free market framework that allows me to freely trade with my neighbor. We could get into deep pedantic discussions on the subject, which I find very interesting at times, but usually I like to let Jeff Klein, Michael Strong and John Mackey from FLOW do that arguing for me. (I will say this is worth reading. :)
When Julian (thanks again for your inspiring dedication to your craft and to your commitment to empower others) invited me to play in his 3rd Zymposium (1 and 2), I figured I’d use a piece I wrote for a class I taught on entrepreneurialism (called AreteÌ & The Entrepreneur).
But that didn’t quite seem to fit.
Then I realized I was in a bit of a bind b/c I actually don’t really care that much about business (especially now that I’ve shifted into “student of life” mode) and I definitely don’t enjoy writing “traditional” stuff that much at all. Shit.
Shall I talk about the two roles we play in the conscious capitalism equation? The conscious consumer who votes with every dollar they spend? Or the conscious “earner” who does the work to figure out how to get paid giving their greatest gifts to the world? Or both?
Or, should I just have some fun and share some random ideas and see where it landed?
After a little creative wandering, I figured I’d throw this out there:
As “spiritual” individuals, we have a moral obligation to figure out how to get paid to give our greatest strengths in the greatest service to the world.
Yes I said “moral.” And, I said “obligation.”
Here’s how I arrived at that:
I think we’d all agree that the essence of “being spiritual” is to connect to spirit/source/etc.
I also think we’d agree that the embodiment of that connection, regardless of the road taken to experience it, is love.
And, the outward act of love is service.
So far so good?
So, if I want to live in integrity as a “spiritual” person, I will connect with spirit, live with love, and serve.
Yah?
Now, it’s the 21st century. Capitalism is unquestionably the dominant ideology. If we’re going to function within society, we have a practical need to pay the rent, buy some groceries and do other mundane material things.
Yah?
Now, in my opinion, if we take our spirituality seriously, if I’m going to have any integrity to my spirituality, I need to figure how to get paid to serve.
Fair?
My biggest gripe on this subject is that too many “spiritual” people can’t figure out how they’re going to “fit” into a capitalist society and then project that energy/frustration onto the system rather than into their own deeper self-inquiry. (Reminds me of Tolstoy: “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”) (And, for the record, I speak as an expert on the subject as it was out of this angst that I merged spirituality and capitalism to create Zaadz…so I’m keenly aware of the challenge…)
The next logical question (assuming we’re in essential agreement here), is, How does one figure out how to get paid to use his/her greatest strengths in the greatest service to the world?
THAT is where our moral obligation comes in.
We all need to do our own work to discover our authentic voice. And then, with the support of a community like this, courageously give ourselves to the word.
It’s all part of a much longer chat I wish I could have with each of you and what I’m going to spend the next chunk of my life working on. (See the first wave of the 1,000 “Big Ideas” I’m distilling as I lay the foundation for teaching a 21st century philosophy on optimal living.)
If I may, I’ll close with a random thought:
On Spending vs. Circulating
Why do we say we “spend” money?
That’s insane. “To spend” means “to use up” or “to wear out; exhaust.” It’s totally linear and pays no attention to the beautiful ecology of circulating money.
I don’t know about you, but when I buy a meal at a restaurant or buy a pair of tennis shoes or a new tire for my car, or whatever, I see the INCREDIBLY interconnected ecology of human beings that went into that simple purchase.
Pull the thread from any one of the components of a recent purchase and look at it. Let’s say you go out to eat. So, how’d that soup spoon get there? There are so many connections in that one object, it’s mind-boggling. Let’s give thanks to the person who set it on the table (as well as the person who made the table) and the person who bought it for the restaurant and the person who made the machine that made it and the person who packaged it up and the person who shipped it to the restaurant and the person who built the truck they drove and the person who built the stoplight and fixed the pothole and … and …. and…
That ONE item touched a remarkable number of people.
And what about everything else that went into that evening out?
Staggering.
It’s an infinite interconnected loop and if we took it far enough, that ONE meal comes pretty damn close to touching every person in the world.
So, I joyfully participate in that process with a huge amount of gratitude. And, I think we should call it “circulating” money from now on. :)
Ahem.
…
Julian: Thanks again for the opportunity to share some meandering thoughts.
And, everyone reading: thank YOU for participating in Zaadz and helping me discover my greatest strengths and how I can best give them in the greatest service to the world.
* looks for place for all of us to stand *
Group hug,
-bri
“We must be the change we wish to see.”
Mahatma Gandhi, 20th century Indian spiritual & political leader
Mahatma Gandhi, 20th century Indian spiritual & political leader
P.S. What have YOU learned about spirituality and economics that has influenced your life?!!? I'd love to collect some AWESOME lessons here!!! So Share!!! (pretty please :)
Access: PublicTagged with: consciousness, conscious capitalism, julian walker, zymposium, z3, eco business and conscious capitalism, siona van dijk, brian johnson, zaadz, gaiam, thinkarete, c4chaos, tommy rosen, eco gift expo, christiana wyly, green mountian energy, jeff klein, flow, whole foods, environmentalism, spirituality, eco business
YAY BRIAN! Just say YES to moral obligation. I love it. For all the reasons you've mentioned and more, my currect lecture series is called “From Debts to Dollars: Making Spiritual Sense of Your Finances.” After being in banking/finance for 14 years I've seen the many creative ways people have blocked money (abundance) from their lives. And your point is so well taken… Why do people who have such good intentions often block money the most? Time for a shift in thinking, I'd say. Thanks, Brian. Once again you are an inspiration.
~In Abundance,
Katrina
hey katrina:
wow. gave me goosebumps with that post. thank you for your kind words and for your wisdom.
I'd LOVE to hear more about what you teach!!
gah! just lost my add-on comment (user error :).
wanted to say that two books have had a HUGE impact on my consciousness around money:
1. Spiritual Economics by Eric Butterworth. (Quotes here.) This book rocks. HIGHLY recommend it.
2. Science of Getting Rich. (Braces for beat-down from Julian as this book influenced the secret peeps :). This book rocks. Big idea: we have a moral obligation to live at our highest potential; to do that, we need money; therefore, we have a moral obligation to have money. (I actualy recorded this waaaaay back when. (plus: who wouldn't want to read a book by a dod named “wallace wattles”?!!? :)
[er, “dod” = “dood” (15 minute shock clock violation got me on that one :)]
and while I'm comment spamming here, I'd love to reiterate my request from my P.S. :
What have YOU learned about spirituality and economics that has influenced your life?!!? I'd love to collect some AWESOME lessons here!!! So Share!!! (pretty please :)
Brian!
This is beautiful. Of course I would think so; it reflects a bit my own philosophy or understanding or nebulous what-have-you around the relationship of spirituality and money.
Anyway. I do feel the same way about the capitalism side of the equation—if we lived in a predominantly communisitic culture, I feel have no doubt I'd be urging a conscious communisim—and quite similarly about that moral obligation to make a living (to make money) doing what it is you love. To me it's a moral obligation to both oneself (if you don't love yourself, how can you possibly claim to wholly love others?) and to the rest of the world (being a model of this commitment is important, sure, but as important is the fact that the world is waiting for all our gifts. What else are we here for?).
But that's pretty much what you just said. :)
So I'll move on.
You asked about the lessons in spirituality and economics. Damn, boy. That's something I could go on about for hours. Frankly, it took me a looong while to get there, just because I had so much psychological poop to shovel through first. (Thought: is the abundance of The Secret the economic equivalent of spiritual bypass? Interesting…) I had money so bound up with ideas of self-worth and all sorts of other psychological intangibles, like security and freedom and power. It took me working through all that, and finding a place of 'enoughness' in myself first, before I could start looking in a remotely clear-eyed way at a spiritual relationship with economics.
And I'd in no way claim to have sorted that out yet.
This is perhaps a bit of a tangent, but I'm a little less interested in helping others make money (this can be such a treadmill of dissatisfaction unless the relationship to basic needs and belonging needs and needs of self-actualization are met; it's easy, I think, for money to serve as a surrogate) than I am in helping them realize they (or we) have (or are) enough. And I don't mean to insist that this is the case for anyone—if you feel you don't have enough, that's certainly fair!—but only to share that it's made my life more than a little bit wonderful.
I think I discovered this for myself when my own yearly income was four figures, but I suppose it can happen anywhere on the economic ladder. I woke up to the fact that I had enough to eat, and enough to stay warm, and more than enough to survive, and that this, until I died, would always be the case. (Tautological, I know—if I freeze or starve to death I'll obviously not have had enough, but I'm content to wait to worry about that until it actually happens. :) There was such freedom in this, and such security, in that it helped me realize that the work I did was and is my choice. I'm not doing it to prove anything, or to gain security, or to earn my way to 'financial freedom.' I feel I have nothing to prove, and that I'm as secure as I'll ever be (even billionaires run the risk of the economic system collapsing; even wholly self-sufficient, off-the-grid folk risk being overrun by those who'd not “prepared” if some system collapse occurs), and, too, that I'm as free as I'll ever be. I find my life profoundly enjoyable, and sometimes my greatest issue involves understanding that what worked for me might not work for everyone, and just because I've relished this discovery doesn't mean I should assume that others will feel the same.
Also, I know there are objections that could be raised about those that truly don't have enough; those children who might be dying of hunger in other countries, or the millions of homeless in the United States. Perhaps I should be expending more of my energy making sure that these people are taken care of first, before running around reminding those of us who don't need to worry about where our next meal is coming from how fortunate we are. I'm not sure how to answer that, but I'll acknowledge it, at the least.
In any case, this is getting long and I'm getting a bit self-conscious, so take my own shared lesson for what it's worth, and we'll see where the rest leads.:)
brian! this is inspired, inspiring, boldly stated and eloquent.
i will have a look at the thinkarete piece in a moment here,, but i have a question not dissimilar from the one i asked siona:
it has to do with a working definition of what conscious capitalism is and with the third (and i think biggest) wheel in the mechanism you guys are invoking - the capitalist.
so far both of you have mentioned our process as both worker (follow your bliss/integrity and get paid to serve) and as consumers (vote with your dollars) but this is still just one side of the “capitalism” equation” and isn't what this group in particular specializes in oriented around conscious business practices so that the capitalist - the producer of goods, the ceo the big business tycoon can become a force for positive change by making their biz model and their intentions conscious?
i sense that this has somethig to do with realizing that/figuring out how to have earth-friendly/people friendly practices and choices turn out to actually be the most profitable with regard to an integral bottom line - but also, in the long run. with regard to sustainable profits….
anyway i look forward to your next chapter and to having a go at the science of getting rich! :O)
GAH!! just lost my second comment today accidentally clicking on a link I thought I was right clicking with my new mac and it opened the window in the same tab and shitzbah! comment gone.
I begin anew. :)
first, thanks for the personal compliment you gave me by deciding to read science of getting rich. hehe. :)
ok.
you say, it has to do with a working definition of what conscious capitalism is and with the third (and i think biggest) wheel in the mechanism you guys are invoking - the capitalist.
so far both of you have mentioned our process as both worker (follow your bliss/integrity and get paid to serve) and as consumers (vote with your dollars) but this is still just one side of the “capitalism” equation”
(Don't you hate when already said something so well and then you delete it and need to try to re-capture the magic of your prior flow!!? Breathe… :)
So, I think this is a common misperception. to think that only the “capitalist” (that evil bastard!) plays on the capitalist side of the equation is totally missing the power of the consumer and the worker. the fact is that the capitalist simply DOES NOT exist without either the consumer or the worker. I stop buying your shit? you're out of biz. I stop working for you? ditto. We abdicate WAY too much responsibility to that greedy “capitalist” methinks. (and the ceo wouldn't fit into your def of “capitalist” unless he also invested capital…)
Mises is a must-read if you want more on this. (Get the book. It's a REALLY quick read…)
Steps down from soap box.
thoughts?
thanks, brian. great thoughts. i especially like “circulating vs. spending”.
another great aspect of circulation is that rather than implying a consumeristic hype of cheap throw-away junk, it rather implies a market in which the products themselves are circulatable. products that can be reused or recycled rather than just thrown away- for if the boughten product is simply discardable, then the circulation is an illusion.
“I think I discovered this for myself when my own yearly income was four figures, but I suppose it can happen anywhere on the economic ladder. I woke up to the fact that I had enough to eat, and enough to stay warm, and more than enough to survive, and that this, until I died, would always be the case.”
This was the case for me, also. A turning point of, “oh. I guess that didn’t matter after all!”
Hugs your way, sir.
“I'd LOVE to hear more about what you teach!!”
Thanks, Brian! I love working with people around finances. I guess that is why I got into banking and finance even though my BA is in English and my MS is in Communications. Go figure.
I became a fully licensed stock-broker/investment advisor about 12 years ago and have been fascinated by the people that have come to me for advice. I have helped thousands of people both directly, as their advisor, and indirectly ,as a regional manager to hundreds of other advisors. And over the years, the stories don't change a whole lot.
One of the biggest obstacles to having wealth (or enjoying it if you already have it) is a lack of self-worthiness. On some level people don't think they deserve it and shouldn't have it. When I coach people on this issue, we often find that unblocking the money “stuff” helps unblock so many things in their lives.
Another “new age” blocker of wealth is the phrase that “money doesn't really mean anything.” I'm not sure which came first, the chicken or the egg, here. Either these people truly don't believe that money means anything and so they don't have it. Or they don't have it and so they say it is meaningless so they feel better. After all, who wants something meaningless in their lives. Whatever the reason, this phrase is toxic.
And yet another HUGE blocker of wealth is the accumulation of junk in our lives. This junk is a form of abundance and when I point this out to people they very often have an AHAA moment. If you are praying for abundance, then guess what… you already have it. Yes it may be tons of crap that has accumulated in your garage/basement/attic/living room/office. But, whether you like it or not it is a form of abundance. So clean out the crap and make room for true wealth.
And my final point (for this blog comment anyway) is the idea that money circulates, as you mentioned in your blog. You need to give to receive. It flows like water. On this topic I do a powerful meditation with the analogy of the ocean as a source of abundance.
I could go on and on, but these are a few of the major points I work on with people. Thank you for asking Dod… I mean Dood. : )
Wishing you a beautiful and abundant day!
Katrina
Great discussion!
My two cents about the capitalist like Julian raised the question. The amount of money that we do not spend on goods and services we save. And this we can invest (or let other people to invest it on our behalf - for example, your bank) in order to build new goods and services. So, if you look carefully you will see that everyone has all these roles: worker, consumer and capitalist and typically we are all of those, partially, all the time!
No new goods or services come available if no one is building them. Nor any business will flourish if there are no consumers or workers. Like Brian elegantly pointed out we are dependent on each other and the society works because so many of us are contributing and making the production of goods and services available.
I tried to comment but errored and lost it…. Brian, we have the same thing going on… reformulating… :) more coming….
For now…
This is from my lovely partner…
I loved the bit about the restaurant and the spoon. My consciousness has been much like that lately. Whenever we've flown for the last year or so I've always started the flight by visioning and giving gratitude to every single person that made that particular flight possible…all along the line…on all levels…and it's brought me to tears before. The recognition of each one's contribution to a given moment is absolutely mind boggling…how can we even consider to ponder for a single second that what we do or don't do does or does not matter…in the Universal spectrum it's all revealed and brilliant in its display! When we bring that kind of consciousness to any situation…when we go beyond what seemingly lies right before us and reach into the depths of its entire creation we're blown away by the interconnectedness and the RELATIONSHIP with the all that we experience in every/any given moment. Feelin' the LOVE of our brothers and sisters planet wide…giving gratitude for the ALL.
The amount of money that we do not spend on goods and services we save. And this we can invest (or let other people to invest it on our behalf - for example, your bank) in order to build new goods and services. So, if you look carefully you will see that everyone has all these roles: worker, consumer and capitalist and typically we are all of those, partially, all the time!
Peter: BRILLIANT distinction. Thank you.
…
another great aspect of circulation is that rather than implying a consumeristic hype of cheap throw-away junk, it rather implies a market in which the products themselves are circulatable. products that can be reused or recycled rather than just thrown away- for if the boughten product is simply discardable, then the circulation is an illusion.
David: love that point. McDonough's ”cradle to cradle” concept really inspires me here.…
Katrina: Dod! that comment rocked. :) MORE MORE MORE, please. this is a great place for you (and others) to share your ideas. Please share. :)
Mark: beautiful… I, too, have been brought to tears with gratitude feeling into the stunning connections…
a ritual of mine is to pause for a moment before paying any bill or buying anything and do a quick relection on the gratitude for everyone it took for me to have the opportunity to participate in the transaction…sometimes it's for a second, others it's an entire meditation…
in gratitude for your partner's beatiful post,
-bri
Brian: just plain Mises and Rothbard :-)
i hear that brian - and definitely agree - i am not postualting an “evil bastard” - though of course in reality there are plenty. in reality there are also folks with tons of cash and big businesses who are philanthropic and actively working to use heir privilege for the good…
i am merely asking for a rounding out of the equation and am pointing out that technically capitalism means something like the use of capital to create more via a profit-centered enterprise. our side of the equation viz work and consumption is still only one side - and it is a small percentage of the world that can experience the choices your are pointing out.
we cannnot afford to ignore the critique of capitalism and the realities of exploitation that have been part of it's legacy if we are to attempt a meaningful transformation of it's meaning.
as i alluded to above, i think we also cannot pretend that the two (beautiful and important) things we are already talking about viz: following your bliss and voting with your dollars are to a large extent middle and upper middle class luxuries that most of the planet does not share - why? because they have no capital!
so is the construct that the middle and upper middle class inhabitants of the western world and a tiny percentage of the rest of the plkanet can transform/revolutionize:
a) the inherent and undeniable problems of uncontrolled capitalism and amoral exploitation of cheap labor, sweat shop etc
b) the envoironmental damage done say by multinational companies that we dont even realize we are supporting or whom we are de facto dependent upon with very few if any alternatives
c) the wars being waged to protect capital on behalf of the billionaires
i certainly think there is some merit to this position but i think i am hoping that someone will flesh it out more once the feel-good rhetorical framework has been established.
i am very interested in the thoughts of you all !
The relationship of the capitalist must be in harmony with the worker and the consumer to be successful. The 3 are integral, all part of the whole.
capitalist
worker
consumer
The evolution of consciousness in business asks us how can we serve and be in abundance for the greatest service to the world.
As “spiritual” individuals, we have a moral obligation to figure out how to get paid to give our greatest strengths in the greatest service to the world.
YES!
I ask myself this continually, how can I be in serve and fully in abundance… and Juilan, I AM the capitalist, the worker and the consumer. :)
“The yoga we practice is not for ourselves alone, but for the Divine; its aim is to work out the will of the Divine in the world, to effect a spiritual transformation and to bring down a divine nature and a divine life into the mental, vital and physical nature and life of humanity. Its object is not personal Mukti, although Mukti is a necessary condition of the yoga, but the liberation and transformation of the human being. It is not personal Ananda, but the bringing down of the divine Ananda – Christ's kingdom of heaven, our Satyayuga – upon the earth.”- Sri Aurobindo
love it, mark.
Julian: Good points that need to be addressed (not sure in this post and/or by me, but …)
I'm just going to shine the light on a subtle energy here:
i hear that brian - and definitely agree - i am not postualting an “evil bastard” - though of course in reality there are plenty. in reality there are also folks with tons of cash and big businesses who are philanthropic and actively working to use heir privilege for the good…
[take out the (what I believe to be) exceptions of corporate bastards and] your comment presupposes that the simple act of creating the wealth wasn't a positive contribution to society–that they need to make up for the evil bastardness by being “nice”/philanthropic AFTER acumulating the wealth. I would posit that the not so simple act of creating a fortune that then enabled them to be philanthropic was an INCREDIBLY positive conribution to society to which we all benefited…
peter: nice. what do i need to read by rothbard?
And my final point (for this blog comment anyway) is the idea that money circulates, as you mentioned in your blog. You need to give to receive. It flows like water. On this topic I do a powerful meditation with the analogy of the ocean as a source of abundance.
Katrina, thanks so much for these words!
I see money as energy… as flow in a system. As someone who's lived sorrounded by the ocean on one of the most remote land masses on the world the ocean is truly abundant and continually flowing. To be with the abunance of the ocean is transforming.
As we flow and share we are abundant.
Brian: You will love him. Just type 'Rothbard' on http://books.zaadz.com/books/search and you will get the essentials :-)
http://books.zaadz.com/133885/man_economy_and_state_with_power_and_market/by_murray_n_rothbard
http://books.zaadz.com/133887/the_ethics_of_liberty/by_murray_newton_rothbard_hans-hermann_hoppe
http://books.zaadz.com/133886/an_austrian_perspective_on_the_history_of_economic_thought/by_murray_rothbard
http://books.zaadz.com/12759/americas_great_depression/by_murray_n_rothbard
Just some picks but he's huge: http://www.mises.org/about/3249
The challenges of capitalism exist… and are not to be overlooked….
and I have a hard time relating to business as good or evil at all. I truly believe that the vast majority of people in the set out to make positive contributions to the world. The challenge is not getting stuck in limited doing and limited beliefs. The opportunity is to expand in doing / action from I to greater and greater WE.
Enjoying the flow here, I would like to play with how we can go from conscious capitialism to transformational economics. Anyone interested in sharing?
absolutely brian i totally agree that the creative act of engaging in the world, providing jobs, prospering by participating in the circulation of wealth, goods and services is POSITIVE. absolutely.
i was merely contrasting the archetype you evoked of the stereotypical evil capitalist with one of a capitalist who recognizes their privilege and strives to spread the wealth around and do good in the world.
also let us not forget that not every wealthy capitalist is a successful creative entrepreneur, many if not most come from backgrounds where the possibility of success and wealth was to a certain extent predetermined by their privilege.
the tricky part in merging spirituality and economics lies in avoiding the tendency to self-satisfyingly claim some spiritual superiority from a level of privilege that amounts mostly to a throw of the dice. difficult philosophical connundrum…
i am still longing for a definition of conscious capitalism that is well-situated with regard to the historical context of the word capitalism and it's acknowledged imperfections.
anyway just stirring the pot in the interest of fleshing this stuff out!
best
~julian
This is one way to see the overall picture and especially if we are talking about voluntary cooperation between people based on responsibility.
I know those will extend and maybe go a bit beyond the discussion but after all economics is about society and how it functions. Currently we have mixed economies tangled by politics.
thanks for sharing your thoughts, Brian.
“My biggest gripe on this subject is that too many “spiritual” people can’t figure out how they’re going to “fit” into a capitalist society and then project that energy/frustration onto the system rather than into their own deeper self-inquiry.”
haha. that is one of my biggest gripes too :)
and i like your take on the two roles that we play in conscious capitalism: the conscious consumer and the conscious earner.
the conscious earner, i can relate to (thanks to you for hiring me on Zaadz! :)) but i admit that i'm still working on the conscious consumer part. most of the time, i'd still go for convenience and price since saving up on moolah is my top priority right now. and besides, it gets tricky when you're faced with a dilemma (since everything is connected). here's a concrete example that i have to face everyday:
i have a smaller version of BIG chain grocery near my place at walking distance. i do my groceries there everyday. why? because aside the convenience, it's less pricey than Whole Foods (or any local specialty market), i can get there by walking! this means i save money on the food, gas, less carbon emission, not to mention that i get to exercise, and also support the people in the community who works there.
let's say i decide to shop at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's so that i can vote with my dollars. it would take me 15-20 minutes to get there. i'll consume energy and gas (and support the oil industry in the process too) and emit carbon that i didn't have to (and contribute to global warming in the process, at least that's what they say). so did i just contradicted my good intentions?
being mindful of the ALL interconnections is both mind-boggling and can render me paralyzed at times, if i take it too seriously ;)
having said that, i still try to be mindful of big purchases whenever i can. i see to it that i choose the “lesser evil”.
right now, one of the things i can do is to educate myself on business and investments so i that i learn how to invest in businesses that are doing good with my earnings. to me, that is another powerful way of voting with my dollars.
speaking of Capitalism, it's like an operating system. it can be revised and upgraded. but just like Windows, it would still have bugs and loop holes ;)
that is all for now. looking forward to your BIG IDEAS!
~C
speaking of Capitalism, it's like an operating system. it can be revised and upgraded. but just like Windows, it would still have bugs and loop holes ;)
Thanks for your thoughts C4 :)
I think our intentions as mindful consumers is important. If you walk to the store and… are conscious of what you buy at the local BIG chain you are obviously doing some good.
What is the greater good seems to be a journey of continually evolving mindfulness as we consume, produce and work.
Great entry and following discussion!! I'm really enjoying it.
The big thing I saw missing in the original post was the altitude component and an implicit assumption in Brian's model of how to engage in conscious capitalism. Perhaps the simplest general model for development goes from egocentric (I care only about myself) to ethnocentric (I care only about my group) to worldcentric (I care about all humans) to kosmocentric (I care about all sentient beings). I believe people at the egocentric or ethnocentric levels of development could use the following phrase to have the exact opposite effect of what I believe Brian is hoping for. As “spiritual” individuals, we have a moral obligation to figure out how to get paid to give our greatest strengths in the greatest service to the world. Let me use Osama Bin Laden as extreme example of how this could be misinterpreted by someone at the ethnocentric level . Osama Bin Laden sincerely appears to care about ethnocentric Allah, believes he has a moral obligation to kill the infidels, and is using all of his talents to do as much because he believes it is his service to the world. I don't have anything against muslims either and believe a terrorist at the ethnocentric stage of development from any religion or ethnic group could use the same reasoning to the same end.
Elijah has a good point.
All systems (and concepts) are only as good as the people using them. It's easy to blame and point faults in structures when still all the actions and responsibilities lay with the very individuals acting.
Imposed rules and regulations are a poor substitute for something that needs to come within: ethics. Forced morality has no long lived results - no matter whether it is about economics or something else.
just poppin in. Brilliant all around.
(and always appreciate the pot stirring, J! :)
And, just posted this…inspired by our chat: Big Idea: Meditations on Gratitude
I LOVE this conversation. When a child says, “I want to be a fireman”, many adults smile and say its because they like the red trucks. Have you ever asked a child why they want to be a fireman, or a musician, or a doctor? The answer I get the most, is because children want to help people… they see the world through the eyes of love.. and service. The child within all of us never dies, and it is encumbent on us to be our child in everything that we do. I don't think we necessarily need to choose a career path that is an expression of who we are, we need to express who we are, in any career path we choose.
So… can you summarize… in one word… what the loving child-like gift inside of you is? How can you live that word to the fullest, in the career you are now in?
holy sh*t, DAve. This is beautiful:
When a child says, “I want to be a fireman”, many adults smile and say its because they like the red trucks. Have you ever asked a child why they want to be a fireman, or a musician, or a doctor? The answer I get the most, is because children want to help people… they see the world through the eyes of love.. and service. The child within all of us never dies, and it is encumbent on us to be our child in everything that we do. I don't think we necessarily need to choose a career path that is an expression of who we are, we need to express who we are, in any career path we choose.
And my word? Inspire.
yours?
Reminds me of this little piece I wrote: How’s your genius? and this: The Genius Spiral.
Hi all! Dropping in from Sunny Spain (nearly my bedtime!)
Lots of great comments here, the last one from you Dave made me smile - I'm an ex British Bobby and I wanted to be a policeman since I was a young boy… because I loved to help people even as a kid… and having left that job (local service) to use my skills to better use in world-service, I guess I'm still being a cop of sorts! (Global Cop!)(Sounds like a new TV series!)
What I mean by that is that in the UK Police, and no doubt most other countries, the first priority of the Police Service is not to catch crooks, it is “To protect life”….
All I am doing now is an extension of that same central ethos, just working on a broader canvas…
So now I work as a freelance consultant on Ethical Business Development, Sustainable Community Development and the Facilitation of Compassionate Leadership Skills…
With a small group of existing associates (and hopefully some of the members of the Zaadz community in future) I am in process of creating the International School for Ethical Business (ISEB)…and an example of what an ethical business looks like will soon be created because of this, almost certainly in Boulder, Colorado… but that's another story…
So I am completely into this discussion, coming from the perspective of Ethical Business etc… and wholly agree that the “Conscious” part of the term “Conscious Capitalism” is absolutely the real beating heart of this critter.
NOw, given the above interchanges, and the obvious link between the themes of Conscious Capitalism and Ethical Business, thought I would post the following…which agrees with a vast amount of that which was said above, but not everything….as you will see….
Question:
What is an Ethical Business? (What does it mean)
Answer:
Currently, in principle, there are thre main types of Ethical Businesses, basic, advanced and global.
(In future centuries there may well be other types, where businesses operate on more than one planet, but for now, we will stick with explaining the difference between basic, advanced and global Ethical Businesses)
A basicEthical Business is any business that genuinely operates in ways that are truly Planet Friendly, People Friendly and Profit Friendly. It will tend to be a small to medium sized business, and may work locally, regionally or nationally. A few may work internationally. (There are many examples now of such businesses.)
An advanced Ethical Business is any business that genuinely operates in ways that are truly Planet Friendly, People Friendly and Profit Friendly. It will tend to be a large organisation which may work locally, regionally or nationally. A few may work internationally. (There are very very few examples of such businesss.)
A global Ethical Business is any business that genuinely operates in ways that are truly Planet Friendly, People Friendly and Profit Friendly. It willbe a multinational organisation, employing hundreds, thousands or even millions of people in many countries around the world. (There appear to be no examples of these types of Ethical Businesses yet, anywhere in the world.)
Clearly, the common denominator to any Ethical Business is that it works in ways that are truly Planet Friendly, People Friendly and Profit Friendly.
However, the larger the organisation, the broader it's geographical sphere of influence, then the more skilled the people in that organisation have to be at genuinely being Planet Friendly, People Friendly and Profit Friendly.
This is simply because even within one country there are many cultural differences between different geographical regions.
The more eco-systems that Business A or Business B engages with in order to secure its physical, chemical or biological resources, the harder it will tend to be for that business to be truly Planet Friendly.
The more diverse cultures that Business A or Business B has to deal with, the harder itwill tend to be for that business to be truly People Friendly.
The more it costs (in pure financial terms) Business A or Business B to do whatever it exists to do, the harder it will tend to be for that business to be truly Profit Friendly.
This is not rocket science. This is common sense, but over the centuries, seeing the above realities as a problem, traditional or Orthodox Business as an entity has tended to respond with an unsustainable “pseudo-solution”, which was (and still is) basically as follows:
If we (Company X) will find it difficult to be truly Planet Friendly, then putting the time and effort into being genuinely Planet Friendly will make it difficult for us to keep our operating costs down, and that will make it harder for us (maybe even impossible for us) to produce financial profits.
Furthermore, if we, Company X, will find it difficult to be truly People Friendly, then putting the time and effort into being genuinely People Friendly will make it difficult for us to keep our operating costs down, and that will make it harder for us (maybe even impossible for us) to produce financial profits.
So, we will not put as little effort as possible (and ideally none at all) into being truly Planet Friendly and being truly People Friendly…our job (to satisfy our shareholders) is to be Profit Friendly, Profit Friendly, Profit Friendly…regardless of the actual cost incurred by, or real impact upon, the Planet and its People.
Every orthodox business on the planet is operating in a way, consciously or unconsciously, that supports this “pseudo-solution”, this stupidity.
Furthermore, it can be shown that one of the easiest ways to support and perpetuate this folly is through the use of Hierarchies.
Consequently, the structure of almost every single Orthodox Business, and the structure of every Human Society on Earth is Hierarchical… almost as if there were no other shapes, patterns or structures that would work for us. (There are much better patterns)
The problem here being three-fold:
1] Hierarchical Structures are great for many insects and certain animals that have to have a pecking-order, for their “societies” to function - but such structures can easily be shown to be inherently INHUMANE.
2] Just because almost every Orthodox Business on the planet has bought into this “pseudo-solution”, and has kept it alive over the centuries as the central tenet of almost ALL BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS ON THE PLANET…that does not alter the fact that as a core principle, upon which to found an entire World of Business, that “pseudo-solution” is just plain wrong and it makes that World of Business itself fundamentally UNSUSTAINABLE, and, following on from that as a direct consequence, this also makes any Human Society which survives or thrives because of its internal (orthodox) businesses also to be fundamentally UNSUSTAINABLE.
On top of that, over the centuries the combination of [1] and [2] above has become so popular globally especially with those in power, and with those who gain, rather than with those who suffer as a result of this madness, that this World of (Orthodox) Business has become the biggest engine of change in the world that has also founded the largest religion on the planet, namely: Consumerism.
3] These money making machines are operated by millions of honest and hard-working human souls, most of whom have no real idea that they are helping to drain the planet instead of enridch it, but these cash-focused enterprises themselves are essentially Soulless Entities that perpetuate this religion of Consumerism that hides in plain sight, (never callling itself a religion, even though clealry it is one).
Thus the World of (Orthodox) Business basically survives and thrives, in support of its own myopic and ignorant ends, by causing people - worker and customer alike - to be Craving of Gold instead of Loving of God, to be Craving of Dineros instead of being Loving of Dios and so on… now in every single country in the world.
As a result of these three things actually taking place all over the world - directly affecting all but the most remote “stoneage” tribal peoples on this planet - we as a species are experiencing, suffering from, and extending out to others, an astonishing amount of INHUMANITY.
The real bottom line to all of this is as follows:
We now all understand the concept of Cashflow… and have largely forgotten, and generally do not understand the realisation of Godflow. (You will find the word Cashflow in any dictionary… but you will not find the word Godflow.)
And the infinitely important point to all of this is as follows:
Human Beings are not LESS than we think we are, we are MORE than we think we are.
We are, absolutely, fundamentally, essentially and eternally HUMANE BEINGS and MORE, who simply do not belong within, and have no BUSINESS supporting, any form of INHUMANE SYSTEM.
What most people call Business, is actually nothing more than Noisy Busyness, and it is high time that we got back into the BUSINESS of BEING HUMANE.
The best part about this is the fact that the better we become at creating and operating genuinely visionary Ethical Businesses, instead of perpetuating our myopic Orthodox Busynesses, the more truly Planet Friendly and People Friendly….AND PROFIT FRIENDLY (Abundance Facilitating)…we enable ourselves to be.
Ethical Business, which is GENEROSITY BASED rather than GREED BASED, which is VISIONARY rather than MYOPIC, which is SUSTAINABLE rather than UNSUSTAINABLE, which is HUMANE rather than INHUMANE can be the key that opens the door to a better world for all.
So…long explanation, but in relation to the general topic of Ethical Business the short answer to that Question of, “What is it” is:
Ethical Business is the key that can open the door to a better world for all.
Question:
How does it work?
Instead of requiring staff to operate like machines, or be content to be just a number, or a mindless unit or even just a “cog-in-the-machine”…Instead of treating customers like they really can't live without this desirable toy or that fashionable thing…
A truly Ethical Business does the following:
It creates an environment and experience that enables and encourages the people who work in that business to do all of the following:
Have fun, and enjoy their work and their life as a whole.Learn, and apply what they learn to their work and their life as a whole.Be enriched, financially and in other ways, as a result of their work (so that they change their humdrumJob for Life into a Joy for Life).
It also creates an environment or experience that enables and encourages the customers of the business to:
Have fun, enjoy the service or product(s) provided.Learn something useful through that service or use of that productHave their life genuinely enriched in some way, through that service, the product(s) and their interaction with your business.
A truly Ethical Business does nothing that supports the redundant, old-fashioned, greedy “pseudo-solution-supporting” little-box-thinking of Orthodox Business (explained above).
Instead, it practices and applies much more Holistic Thinking, and as a result of that it says whatever it says, and does everything that it does in support of a true (holistic)(wholly-appropriate) solution, which enables that organisation to operate like a living organism with a compassionate heart, rather than like a soulless machine.
Now there is not sufficient space here to go into the huge topic of Holistic Thinking, but the practice of this basically requires any individual person (including a business-person) to think about, “What truly is best for all, here?”… and, having gained some insight into what that might be, to the best of that person's knowledge or belief, to then act accordingly.
So the short answer regarding “How does an Ethical Business work?” is as follows:
The personnel in that business (at all levels, and especially the key-decision makers) cease to think in a selfish, single-minded and machine-like way, and instead think in a more wholly-responsible, wholehearted and holistic way.
They are then better able to answer for themselves, “What truly would be best for all, here, all things considered”?
And, having come up with the best answer they can, in any situation, they then speak and act accordingly - creating new services and products; new methods of delivery; new experiences for themselves and their customers and so on…
Or, if they are doing something thatalready isgenuinelygood for all concerned (It already is genuinely Planet Friendly, People Friendly and Profit Friendly) then they just carry on doing whatever they are doing, and keep up the great work!
Finally…. to change Orthodox Business into Ethical Business and Stupid Capitalism into Conscious Capitalism, one of the main things that needs to happen is an increase in Compassionate Leadership Skills, ideally within every single person who ever has to make a decision in their lives, and certainly amongst those key decision makers who affect all of us….at work, in politics, in church and so on…
Again, to keep this as brief as possible, the following might be of use:
There are three main areas interacting here, within us HUMAN BEINGS:
BEING Compassionate
BEING Competent
BEING Competitive
For all the reasons given above, we have ended up training ourselves and each other to be very good at BEING Competent at BEING Competitive….the real shift that needs to take place in all of this is to become better and better at BEING Competent at BEING Compassionate…
Easy peasy…
Ray
As for me, I’m still not clear with the definition of “conscious capitalism”. It seems to me these are two conflicting words.
What is the definition of “conscious”?
- Mindfull (in the Vipassana tradition)?
- ethical or moral?
- spiritual? (if spiritual, what meaning of the word, see KW, IS, pp100-102)
What is the definition of capitalism? Do we take an average one (like a wiki one):”Capitalism generally refers to an economic system in which the means of production are all or mostly privately owned and operated for profit, and in which investments, distribution, income, production and pricing of goods and services are determined through the operation of a market economy”.
Two notions seem important to me in this definition: profit, and market economy. Profit is defined as an increase in wealth. So when is my increase in wealth” implying a decrease in wealth for others? The notion of “ecological footprint” is here important: if all people around the world would be allowed to have the same “wealth” as french people, we’d need the ecological ressources of about 60 planet earth.
Brian you say “If we’re going to function within society, we have a practical need to pay the rent, buy some groceries and do other mundane material things.” Practical need! Indeed. But how to define practical needs! When do our needs become “unpractical” or “unpracticable”? I cannot come with any satisfying answer here. I would say, though, that we’d need:
- correct means to sustain our bodies (healthy food, not too much and not to little, healthy water - who needs sodas?- physical exercise)
- correct means to sustain our emotional bodies: no lasting stress, time for relationships
- correct means to activate our minds: time to read and think
Thet challenge is to define what our essential needs are. Why? ‘Cause it could be the greatest service of all to others (as you define spirituality as service). If I use only what I really need, this means some other can also use some of the resources.
But in a capitalist economy, if I don’t consume more than I need, some people will get unemployed, but some will definitely lack some rssources - what will happen to all the people working for sodas company if nobody drinks them anymore? Profit and market economy is a totally different approach than a sound world centric management of ressources (which is in my sense our greatest moral challenge). That is why I think capitalism cannot go above the ego or maybe ethnocentric level, as Elijah introduced it. I believe capitalism cannot provide any answer for a world centric perspective.
I have no idea what model could bring us to viable long term world economy, but I intuite that we ought to deconstruct the notions of capitalism and redefine some basic notions like: our needs, well beeing, work and service.
If at the end we can include some of the tools of capitalism, then fine (transcend and include), but I think a new word will have to be coined for this new economy, as new names have appeared for “God” as that one was too much linked with a blue bearded God.
End of my diatribe…I’m fed up with myself..Lol
Be well,
patrick
the real shift that needs to take place in all of this is to become better and better at BEING Competent at BEING Compassionate…
Ray,
Wonderful sharing! I wholistically agree.
:)
Ray,
What a wonderful way to see the world. When we are being authentic to our inner child, we find that it is easy to contribute at many different levels, just as you have from being a policeman of ethics, to being an ethical businessman. I imagine it was not that big a leap for you. Was it?
Makes one wonder that if we are focused on being our gift in what we're doing, and loving it, that we should be able to do so much more every single day!
Brian…. my word… illuminate
illuminate…
wow.
that's hot.
(I might need to borrow that one, sir. That is BEAUTIFUL.)
illuminate…
My son (now 12 ) wanted to be a peacemaker when he was younger…
my word, Peace
The world is not a machine. Everything in it is force, life, thought.
~ G.W. von Leibnitz ( 1646 - 1716, German philosopher and mathematician )
One way to know if you have the right word is this…
When you are giving your gift to another, and you feel your energy transfering to them, do you also feel more energy coming into you from the universe, than you are giving?
That is what I feel, when I am being my word, and giving to another.
Hello everyone,
I”ve been away and not yet read all the entries, so forgive any redundancies, I just feel the urge to jump in with both feet and start typing. First of all, if you want to see what capitalism is with a small “c” go to http://www.kiva.org/
Here are regular people with basic ideas that want to improve their own situation. I don't know if the “science” of getting rich would make any sense to them. What I see as common features are the willingness to work hard and the desire to meet a perceived need. Capitalism on this scale seems to make a lot of sense. It is the best matching of enterprise, imagination and money.
Here is an example of Capitalism with some of the worst qualities highlighted. American Airlines and its parent corporation AMR have been unprofitable for awhile but are now making money. They “extracted” large wage concessions from their employees a few years ago, who have done their part to return the company to profitablility. However from the article:
Any discussion of labor relations at American is colored by the stock bonuses that the company gave the past two years to several hundred executives and managers. The shares were worth about $250 million (€176.85 million) when issued.
AMR seems to be caught in the old “management vs labor” syndrome so common in the 19th and 20th centuries rather than a more contemporary understanding of management and labor all being part of the same team where both sacrifices and prosperity are shared experiences. I'm sure that management would argue that their policies have provided “share holder value” even as they enriched them selves with generous helpings of options and bonuses. It will be interesting to watch and see how this struggle plays out. Unions have many problems but they were created after much blood and sacrifice to meet the power of capitalists with the equal power of labor. Perhaps this old model will slowly go the way of the model A Ford.
Okay, my two cents. Now back to reading.
coyote
Hi everyone. Very interesting and thought-provoking post and comments.
Here's a question for anyone who feels like answering, inspired by the part of this blog post about changing the world vs. changing oneself:
What do you think about the IRS?
I regard the IRS as bullies, thieves, and extortionists, and I recently realized that probably one major reason I have such a hard time making money is because deep down, I really don't _want_ to earn that much money, because I don't want to have to give _any_ of it to bullies, thieves, and extortionists.
I think I and millions of others would probably be much better off if no one had a large portion of their income robbed from them by income taxes. People would have much more money to live on - and I wouldn't have been forced to put a whole lot of debt on my credit cards to save a relative from being unable to pay his taxes, etc.
So, am I wrong to think that perhaps, in this case, it _is_ actually the world that needs to change, rather than myself?
I know I'm not perfect, there are definitely things I need to change about myself, but, I'm not really sure whether or not my loathing for the IRS is one of those things.
What do you think? Any advice?
Best wishes,
Apollia
Hello Apollia,
Did you know that there is nothing in the US Constitution, nor in the US Lawbooks that forces one to pay taxes? I just recently watched a documentary (www.zeitgeist.com) which inlcuded a handful of IRS employees, who hated their work, decided to stop paying taxes, and the IRS cannot do anything about it. Some of those employees have not paid taxes now for almost a decade.
I am not advocating you do not pay taxes at all.
I do hope that you love what you do, and that your inspiration to make money is driven by your life's passion. If you have that, it really doesn't matter if the IRS takes a portion of it, does it?
Take care,
Dave
Jumping in and admiting that I haven't read all the previous posts word for word, however, I want to echo something Brian said about two books that have really impacted him, Spiritual Economics by Eric Butterworth and The Science of Getting Rich. I re-read Spiritual Economics on a regular basis and always learn something new, it is the best book I have read on the subject. Brian, as an aside, I believe that is where the example of the basketball players and visualization is from.
I want to share my personal experience of zaadz before and after creating a zpro page. Before adding zpro, I was kind of hanging out, blogging, meeting people, participating in pods and enjoying wonderful friendships. When I added my zpro page, on some of the pods, and I want to be clear, this was totally on an energetic level, I felt like I was being judged and ostrasized. Somehow by adding in a business component, I felt like I had broken some sacrosanct spiritual purity vow. This comes out too, in the questions about how to change zaadz ie no ads, zpro - maybe.
My vision of the world and for zaadz and my own life is that we are all entrepreneurs following our bliss and knowing how to operationalize this bliss into a self sustaining and planet sustaining income and that we support other businesses and entrepreneurs doing the same.
My vision also includes keeping the energy exchanges flowing by participating in a consciouslly capitalistic society until we figure out a better way of doing things. Our tax system is abit different in Canada, but I view paying taxes as a way of supporting social programs and health care and bless my taxes and I bless my income.
I am frankly somewhat surprised by the negative attitudes expressed in a number of b