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Forum Post: "To change the system, we must change our money"

Posted 12 years ago on Sept. 27, 2011, 2:46 p.m. EST by ianmack (0) from North Vancouver, BC
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

Everyone -

First, thanks for continuing the occupation.

I highly recommend reading the new book "Sacred Economics." It speaks of how to actually transform our monetary system to serve humanity and the world. It's not about hating the rich, as he says, because if we were in their position, we would have made the exact same choices. They are just playing the game as best they can, given our current story of Separation.

To change our world, we must change our money.

Read the full text online http://charleseisenstein.com/online-text/

FROM THE INTRODUCTION:

Humanity is only beginning to awaken to the true magnitude of the crisis on hand. If the economic transformation I will describe seems miraculous, that is because nothing less than a miracle is needed to heal our world. In all realms, from money to ecological healing to politics to technology to medicine, we need solutions that exceed the present bounds of the possible. Fortunately, as the old world falls apart, our knowledge of what is possible expands, and with it expands our courage and our willingness to act. The present convergence of crises-in money, energy, education, health, water, soil, climate, politics, the environment, and more-is a birth crisis, expelling us from the old world into a new. Unavoidably, these crises invade our personal lives, our world falls apart, and we too are born into a new world, a new identity. This is why so many people sense a spiritual dimension to the planetary crisis, even to the economic crisis. We sense that "normal" isn't coming back, that we are being born into a new normal: a new kind of society, a new relationship to the earth, a new experience of being human.

I dedicate all of my work to the more beautiful world our hearts tell us is possible. I say our "hearts," because our minds sometimes tell us it is not possible. Our minds doubt that things will ever be much different from what experience has taught us. You may have felt a wave of cynicism, contempt, or despair as you read my description of a sacred economy. You might have felt an urge to dismiss my words as hopelessly idealistic. Indeed, I myself was tempted to tone down my description, to make it more plausible, more responsible, more in line with our low expectations for what life and the world can be. But such an attenuation would not have been the truth. I will, using the tools of the mind, speak what is in my heart. In my heart I know that an economy and society this beautiful are possible for us to create-and indeed that anything less than that is unworthy of us. Are we so broken that we would aspire to anything less than a sacred world?

6 Comments

6 Comments


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[-] 1 points by takeTsquare (77) 12 years ago

To change the system or even the world, FIRST of all we have to CHANGE OURSELVES :)

[-] 1 points by AriaLittlhous (18) 12 years ago

http://coupmedia.org/occupywallstreet/occupy-wall-street-official-demands-2009

Vote on demands. Add Jublilee year, forgive all debts, financial,emotional, spiritual.

[-] 1 points by MKittles (36) from Maralinga, SA 12 years ago

Here in Australia, I am disgusted by the dependency of our food system on far-off-factory-farms. In the cities, vegetables gardens are not commonplace, and there certainly aren't many (if any) community driven food-production programs.

This is the sort of non-offensive, obviously productive, good in every way type of practice which has been lost in modern society. Regardless of what the money system is, the system has to be reliable. Sustainability is just a word nowadays.

Wouldn't we all feel more comfortable if we knew that our food supply was assured (for at least a few days) if our supply lines broke down? Wouldn't supermarkets need to offer quality fruit and vegetables (rather than shiny freezer-rocks) if you could obtain tomatoes or apples next door?

[-] 1 points by bolat (2) from New Iberia, LA 12 years ago

it is understood that you will have to start small and work your way up but the most important thing at this point is to give people a sense of the power they can command. in the meantime everyone out there should learn as much as possible about the stock market. watch it daily just like the brokers. they are one up because they make this their life. wallstreet is limited by the foundation of profit. if you participate without the intention to make profit...

[-] 1 points by gawdoftruth (3698) from Santa Barbara, CA 12 years ago

agreed, the evolutionary directions are for us to form communities that are self sufficient and thus a micro economic system with the power to stand up to the macro economic system. Grow our own food, manufacture our own goods and services. Form open source think tanks and solve these problems with hard science instead of heated opinions.

[-] 1 points by bolat (2) from New Iberia, LA 12 years ago

if you really want to make a difference:

  1. pick a corp/bank
  2. organize all of those kids out there to buy stock or bonds in said mark using the money it takes them to sustain themselves out there.
  3. after a large purchase, announce a time and sell all at the same time.
  4. rinse and repeat until you get the desired outcome. certainly you have some econ majors there. decide which stock would be most conducive with your cause after assessing how much money you have gathered and execute. wallstreet's power lies in the fact that they command the money and play the stock game. with enough capitol you can make a very real difference in a matter of minutes. if the market is the new "democracy" then choose to vote! with enough money you can support and destroy a business at your will (the free-market back door).