22.10.23
‘Into the Life of Things’ – by Bob Heath
‘I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Remember this? It may bring back memories of dreaded ‘poetry appreciation’ classes at school. Then again, you may never have seen it before! It’s an extract from the best known poem by the best known of the so-called ‘Romantic’ Poets, and national treasure, William Wordsworth. He lived a long time (1770-1850) though most of his best work was completed before he was 40, after which he went into a steady decline, losing, amongst other things, his enthusiasm for the ideals of the French Revolution, which had so inspired his outlook as a younger man. The only real highlight of his later years was his appointment, in 1843, as Poet Laureate.
Wordsworth is one of a number of English writers closely associated with a particular part of the country, in his case The Lake District. He was born there and, apart from his time at Oxford and 4 years in Dorset and Somerset communing with fellow Romantic Samuel Taylor Coleridge (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, In Xanadu did Kubla Khan…) he lived in the area all his life.
So over time there has developed this image of a rather gruff, serious, intense and eccentric gentleman wandering the Cumbrian Hills, ‘at one with Nature’ and composing nice poems about trees, mountains and pretty flowers. Add to that the thousands of annual visitors to his home, Dove Cottage, and you begin to get a sense of a well established Wordsworth ‘industry’ at work.
‘Twas not always so. The publication of ‘Lyrical Ballads’, WW’s joint venture with STC in 1798, was greeted with almost universal hostility by the literary establishment. Shame really, as the young upstarts’ intentions seemed admirable – to ‘democratise’ the language of poetry and bring it down a peg or to from the rarified air of its intellectual elitism, so that it could be enjoyed by ordinary folk. This was entirely consistent with their ideology, but initially too much for the critics. Wordsworth’s great autobiographical poem, ‘The Prelude’, arguably the work which consolidated his legacy, was not published until after his death, so fame and reverence were substantially posthumous.
So, back to the daffodils. I taught this many times, to GCSE and A level English Literature students, usually in the context of a ‘Romantic Poetry’ module, which presented the ‘movement’ as a nice package – Blake, Wordsworth and Coleridge as the ‘first generation’, the Godfathers; Byron, Keats and Shelly as the young bucks grasping the passed-on baton. Thumbnail sketches seemed appropriate – Blake was a madman, STC an opium addict, Byron and Shelley revolutionary firebrands, Keats a rather fey and delicate victim. And our William ? The Poet of Nature, the Great Communer, The Bard of the Lakes.
And that stuck, and it’s probably why ‘Daffodils’ is the essence of Wordsworth for many people. We imagine our hero encountering the ‘host’ of these flowers, with suitable ‘Romantic’ backdrop of lake, trees and breeze – details of the landscape which bombard the senses, primarily sight and, to a lesser extent, hearing. It’s all to do with the world of forms; beautiful scenes creating (usually) pleasurable sense experiences. We witness this phenomenon throughout his poems, in ‘Tintern Abbey’ (more of which later) and ‘Intimations of Immortality’, for example, where he describes the way his feelings were, as a young man, profoundly stirred by scenes of natural beauty.
Fair enough, but note the past tense here – ‘were’. Something shifted, or rather developed and WW, being a sensitive sort of chap, is not only acutely aware of it, but actually able to express it in poetic form. The essence of this process is here in ‘Daffodils’. Although people typically remember the first four lines (and maybe not much else), and have a mental image of this pretty scene, by far the most interesting section of the poem is the first four lines of the final sestet :
‘For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude.’
Peace. The charm’s wound up. The experience has been internalised. No longer are we in the realm of the senses and forms but the domain of the ‘inward eye’, beyond mind and form, in a sort of meditative state, a ‘vacant or pensive mood’ in which the self is revealed :‘the bliss of solitude’ and joy prevails : ‘And then my heart with pleasure fills.’
‘Daffodils’ was published in 1807, but Wordsworth articulates this process in earlier poems such as ‘Tintern Abbey’. Its full title is ‘Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour, July 13 1798.’ Snappy little title it is not, but it is quite helpful – it specifies a location, gives a date and, most importantly, informs us that WW has been here before – and seen it through different (younger) eyes. It’s all about perception and ‘ways of seeing’. He describes his youthful excitement and passion for Nature, but notes how things have changed for him:
Their colours and their forms, were then to me
An appetite; a feeling and a love,
That had no need of a remoter charm,
By thought supplied, not any interest
Unborrowed from the eye.—That time is past,
And all its aching joys are now no more,
And all its dizzy raptures.
Later, he reflects :
For I have learned
To look on nature, not as in the hour
Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes
The still sad music of humanity,
Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power
To chasten and subdue.—And I have felt
A presence that disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused…
So the experience/memory of a natural scene becomes much more than just a sensual experience; it hints at something much deeper, a tapping into some sort of universal consciousness or unity : ‘ A motion and a spirit, that impels / All thinking things, all objects of all thought,/And rolls through all things.
A similar sentiment is present earlier in the poem, conveyed in lines of remarkable resonance and beauty :
… that serene and blessed mood,
In which the affections gently lead us on,
Until, the breath of this corporeal frame
And even the motion of our human blood
Almost suspended, we are laid asleep
In body, and become a living soul:
While with an eye made quiet by the power
Of harmony, and the deep power of joy,
We see into the life of things.
Anyone who practises Yoga Nidra may recognise this! Although an earlier poem than ‘Daffodils’, it seems way beyond it in terms of subtlety and the communication of a state of higher consciousness, which is what the poet seems to be experiencing and, moreover, one he seems to have encountered more than once. The world of separate forms is transcended and replaced by ‘harmony’ and unity.
Of course, Wordsworth did not and does not have a monopoly on such experiences; Literature provides us with a wealth of similar material, made all the more remarkable by the writers’ ability to convey in words (up to a point) what is essentially uncommunicable and beyond words. Shakespeare’s sonnets, Thoreau’s transcendental revelations, Bede Griffiths’ -‘..the whole universe is a sacrament, which mirrors the divine reality…’ – the golden thread permeates thought and writing, man’s relationship with his inner world, through the ages.
Underpinning and preceding all if this, our sacred yogic tradition conveys a similar message :
‘When, happy with vision and wisdom, he is master of his own inner life, his soul sublime set on high, then he is called a Yogi in harmony. To him gold or stones or earth are one.
He has risen on the heights of his soul. And in peace he beholds relatives, companions and friends, those impartial or indifferent or who hate him; he sees them all with the same inner peace.’ Bhagavad Gita 6.8-9.
23.10.23
Eckhart and I – by Bob Heath
Several years ago I went to see Eckhart Tolle at the Royal Festival Hall. I was relatively new to his work and keen to learn more. He didn’t disappoint. After about 15 minutes of audience anticipation, he finally appeared, moved across the stage with that characteristic, rather diffident shuffle, before coming to a halt, a slight figure in that large space. There followed a couple of minutes’ silence – had he forgotten his lines? No – he had no lines to forget – and, as we were to discover, such silences are a key part of his message. I can’t remember how he started talking, but some two hours or so later he was still talking, until an aide made the appropriate gesture in his direction, and he stopped, took the ensuing applause, and shuffled off.
I can’t recall what I took away from that evening, perhaps nothing specific, but the occasion resonated for some time afterwards and, coupled with continuing study of Tolle’s writing, at our weekly Philosophy group meetings, things began to fall into place in terms of an ‘understanding’ of his message.
Some years later, I went to see Eckhart again. This time it was at the Royal Albert Hall. A symbolic change of venue, I thought, representative of his burgeoning audience and fame. (courtesy of that appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show!) He looked even smaller and slighter in this huge venue. The style and the message were similar though, and I marvelled at his ability to talk unscripted for such a length of time. Unscripted but not unprompted – the words were coming from somewhere, not from him but through him.
The main difference between this occasion and the previous one was the inclusion of a guided audience meditation. I can’t remember if it was in the middle or at the end, but it doesn’t matter. It was led by Eckhart’s partner – Kim Eng. The seating capacity of the royal Albert Hall is over 5,000, and that evening it was sold out. So, a mass guided meditation of 5,000 souls/minds, a collective raising of consciousness which lasted around 15 minutes, in silence – and it worked – an remarkable experience.
We continue to use Eckhart a lot in our Thursday group meetings, and indeed with other groups. Sometimes we will read the texts, but often we listen to a CD recording of Eckhart reading his works. The latter is probably more effective. One of his recurring messages is that the words are only pointers and can only do so much. Reading them off a page probably overstates their significance; listening to his voice, (and the pauses and silences) requires more concentration and seems to resonate more.
I suspect many are attracted to Eckhart’s message because of its two key characteristics – simplicity and practicality. After a period of study, basic tenets are recognised – being too much in the mind causes all sorts of problems and negative energy, so accentuate Being and let go of thinking and doing – You are not the mind – Free yourself from it – Cultivate Presence – Past and Future happen only in the Now – distinguish between clock and psychological Time – stop creating your own suffering. And so on. So much of this is sheer common sense and has proved so helpful on a personal level over (both types of) time.
Plus there’s a whole extra dimension to Tolle that we haven’t really explored as a group, i.e. the messages contained in his third book, A New Earth, described as ‘ A wake-up call for the entire planet.’
So what is it about Eckhart that makes him seem to be ‘authentic’ ‘the genuine article’ – if that is indeed what he is? There have been many, many examples, in our recent spiritual (i.e.from the 1960’s to present) history, of apparent messiahs turning out to be rogues, scoundrels, and indeed much worse. I’m sure the notion of the spiritual charlatan goes far far back into the mists of (clock) time.
Some people might not initially take Eckhart seriously. He’s supposed to be a spiritual teacher (he might query that) but he doesn’t look the part. He’s not a physically imposing figure. He wears normal (boring?) clothes. He resembles a hobbit and speaks (often at great length) in a heavily accented drone. He repeats himself. He keeps stopping and pausing and at times appears unable to put a sentence together. His ideas are vague and incomprehensible. He has an irritating laugh and finds his own jokes excessively amusing.
Eckhart would doubtless find this hilarious, not least because it’s so judgemental and labelling – and it goes so completely against his message. However, the above may well be barriers for some people, getting in the way of accessing what is being communicated. Conversely, Eckhart’s (superficial) ‘ordinariness’ is also his attraction – there seems to be a genuine humility and ‘unassumingness’ which enable us to relate to him on our own level – let’s face it – some schools and organisations in the Philosophy / Spiritual domain can be daunting and unapproachable. It’s significant I think that I’m naturally inclined to call him ‘Eckhart’ (an adopted name, from the medieval German mystic, Meister Eckhart; his given name is Ulrich), rather than ‘Tolle’ or even ‘Mr/Herr Tolle’!
For an amusing insight into his everyday life, go to :
But, ‘ordinary’ he is not. Here is an individual who suffered a great deal of emotional pain before experiencing a profound spiritual awakening, one he was able to articulate clearly :
‘I was awakened by the chirping of a bird outside my window. To me this sound was like no other I had ever heard before. My eyes opened to the first light of dawn filtering through the curtains. Without any thought, I felt – knew – there was infinitely more light than we realise, and that the soft luminosity filtering through the curtains was love itself.
With tears in my eyes I recognized the room and yet knew I had never truly seen it before. Everything was fresh and pristine, as if just having come into existence. Picking things up – a pencil, an empty bottle – I marvelled at the beauty and aliveness of it all. Later I walked round the city utterly amazed at the miracle of life on earth, as if I had just been born into the world.
For some months, I lived in an uninterrupted deep peace and bliss. Later, it diminished somewhat in intensity, or, perhaps, just seemed to because it became my natural state. I still functioned in the world but realised that nothing I did could possibly add anything to what I already had. When people came to me asking “How do I get what you have?” I would say “You have it already, but you cannot feel it because your mind is making too much noise.”
(Power of Now)
How can we know if this actually happened? Well we can’t, but then why make it up? The experience bears all the hallmarks of similar awakenings – Tony Parsons, Bede Griffiths – and it underpins all that Eckhart has ‘done’ since in terms of conveying the message. I won’t say ‘his’ message because, as I suggested above, whatever it is seems to be channelled through him.
As with any philosophical / spiritual teachings, we temper our desire for knowledge and ultimately enlightenment and awakening with the filter of discrimination and what we are receptive to. I mentioned earlier the basic tenets of Eckhart’s message which, though initially challenging and even disturbing – everything happens in the present – can eventually be digested and assimilated. It’s a subtle process which we are probably not aware of and it operates beyond the realm of ‘rational’ thought. And it doesn’t necessarily happen every time. Some find aspects of the teaching quite off-putting, tedious or just downright nonsense. Eckhart is doubtless aware of this, and the form of some of his work, in a sort of composite question/answer format, can help articulate these misgivings and provide possible answers.(Or not!)
Like most contemporary spiritual teachers, Eckhart is tech and media-savvy. There are shedloads of materials on Youtube, which put a face and a persona to the name and facilitate accessing his message. Take a look at his website for an insight into his activities and current areas of interest. He travels a lot – hosting ‘An Evening with…’ currently Europe with South Africa lined up for early next year; there’s a shop where you can order books, CD’s, DVD’s and even gift cards; an ‘Eckhart Tolle Foundation’ (which takes donations), has been set up, (Bill Gates watch out) dedicated to ‘Changing the World from Within’ and featuring corporate phrases like ‘ our vision’, ‘our mission’ ‘our outreach’ and ‘partnerships’. Even more intriguing is the ‘private online community’ which requires a subscription and allows access to ‘over 300 hours of additional teachings’ and other delights.
This is par for the course for any self-respecting organisation (spiritual or otherwise) nowadays. It indicates that there is an ‘Eckhart brand’ and that it’s gone global. Typically, it’s all done in an understated and tasteful fashion and you’re not whipping out the credit card every five minutes (unlike some I could mention) it’s but clearly a business, and a big one at that.
I wonder what yer man’s attitude to all this is? He doesn’t strike me as a ‘give up all your material possessions and follow me’ type of guy. He is clearly worth a few quid nowadays, but I would imagine he’s pretty indifferent to and detached from, the everyday financial affairs of his organisation, allowing others to manage this. I may be entirely wrong on this, but one of his comments on the subject encapsulates his take on it : ‘Money can make people very unconscious’.
Go to : https://youtu.be/WmhGZDeGCBM
for more of Eckhart’s thoughts on money.
Ultimately, I’m sure he is ‘delighted’ that his organisation is so ‘successful’ (inverted commas used advisedly) as it indicates that his message is getting across to people globally and that ‘changing the world from within’ is possible.
Free Markets and Ahimsa : by Chris Guttridge
The “free market” is a term commonly used by academics and YouTubers alike when referring to a market devoid of government intervention. While the absence of some “external entity” is a given for market freedom, alone it is not sufficient; indeed the possibility of markets in fossil fuels and anti-human weapons could still very much exist. Instead there is a more fundamental idea that better characterises the scope of a free market: the principle of ahimsa. This essay will elaborate on how markets would be conducted when this principle is placed at the centre.
Oneness
A white light shining through a prism gets differentiated into a colourful spectrum via the process of refraction. Each part of the spectrum appears different to another, but each is a particular expression of the same source of light. To refer to these various expressions we ascribe names to them such as yellow and orange; however there is no objective point at which yellow becomes orange, and so on… Indeed none of these colours can be said to exist in and of themselves – pure monochromatic light cannot be found anywhere in nature – rather they exist as part of a single undivided whole.
Similarly, we can apply this principle to the other levels of experience, namely the materials that serve us as resources. We commonly use words such as copper, silver and gold to describe the plethora of elements we encounter in our daily lives. However, just like the colours of the visible light spectrum, they do not exist in and of themselves but are manifestations of an undivided whole – except here differentiation is achieved through the process of weighing. Naturally, there is no such thing as pure gold or pure copper, we simply move from less or more refined expressions (more of one set of properties and less of another) in accordance with our requirements. Gold, then, just like the colour yellow, does not exist outside of consciousness.
Differentiation manifests through consciousness by a process of divisive thoughts, giving rise to colours, gold and all that can be objectified – including the individual self. Each individual experience is unique, but all exist as expressions of the same shared experience: a single undivided consciousness. All individuals are an expression of this single unified whole, interconnected at the deepest and most fundamental level.
You and I are one and the same.
Ahimsa
Ahimsa is the ancient attitude of “non-harming” that can be traced back to the cradle of civilisation. This deep and important principle encompasses all living things and has fundamental application to our economic and societal customs. Ahimsa starts with this observation that there is a common awareness which all living things are expressions of, and which we all participate in and share between us, as one. Thus it follows that we have a duty to not harm ourselves, others, and every other living that shares this world – either by our deeds, words or thoughts. To inflict harm on others is to inflict harm upon oneself, as to help others is to help oneself. This concept is not purely metaphysical but something we observe every day. Ignorance of ahimsa and our interconnectedness has promoted the infinite division and attachment seen throughout society today.
Production
We each possess a variety of skills and interests that allow us to produce and refine materials to enhance our well-being. Particular skills are required to grow nutritious vegetables, refine minerals to a high purity, and craft precision surgical instruments. The goods that derive from these processes form the very basis of market exchange; hence for free exchange to occur it is imperative that they adhere to the principle of ahimsa.
Take the act of planting a chrysanthemum in your garden at home. These flowers provide a late source of nectar for visiting bees and insects, all the while adding pleasing dynamic to your garden which can be harvested to make a healthy summertime tea. In such cases growing a flower is mutually beneficial and can be achieved without harming living creatures or the environment, thereby increasing collective harmony. Producing quality goods in a harmonious way is the primary and most important consideration of free exchange, more so than exchange itself! Yet this consideration is not always a given…
Much of the food we eat is grown on large food plantations on an industrial scale, typically involving the production of only one or two crops on a given plot of land. It is uncontroversial that this act of monoculture destroys biodiversity, harms wildlife and disrupts soil structure, leading to the use of fertiliser and pesticides that amplifies such destruction and pollute our water supplies. Sympathisers of fiat capitalism defend this system by claiming “prices” are kept low for consumers; of course, the only real goal being the “profits” of short-sighted farm owners.
Similar issues can also be found in the realm of animal farming. Abandonment of ahimsa in favour of material accumulation has led to animals being raised in confined spaces along with the inception of slaughterhouses intended to kill as cheaply as possible. While intensely farmed animals are of course directly exploited by these conditions, such practices also encourage the spread of disease that leads to increased antibiotic use – decreasing the effectiveness of human medicines.
Indeed further comparisons can be made to the owner-worker dichotomy promoted in every corner of the globe. Many workers are faced with miserable conditions for the benefit of the “shareholders” who exploit them just like the dairy cows and battery hens. Such systems are a subtle form of slavery that prey on the desperation of those in less fortunate situations. If markets were free, those involved in the production of goods would have ownership in their own work, preventing market imbalances where the fruits of one’s labour is tipped in favour of others.
Swapping goods produced under the above conditions is not representative of free exchange – regardless of how the actual exchange is conducted. By growing vegetables on small scales at home or in the community and adhering to a vegetarian diet, many of these issues can be minimised or eliminated entirely. Having diverse crops among natural flora promotes biodiversity and maintains a complex soil structure. Wildlife would not be destroyed by pesticides and large plantation equipment. Communal gardens where all are free to pick the fruits and vegetables would also resolve issues in the labour market. But how would such goods be shared among us?
Zero Flux
Exchange enables us to share the things we make and grow with one another as if we each possessed the entire set of collective skills. Just like the production of goods, exchange is something mutually beneficial if we adhere to the principle of ahimsa, as such it requires fair and open facilitation for the well-being of all. The duty to promote free exchange falls upon the market maker who displays two-way quotations to enable continuous flow of goods across their table. To prevent hoarding and to ensure all are free to participate without restriction, market makers are to display their quotations within the public domain where they are open to public scrutiny. Nevertheless, such practices have once again been distorted by fiat capitalism…
As we visit the marketplace, we often observe the marking-up of goods that flow through the hands of marketeers. For example, a marketeer might offer 1oz of copper coin for 5oz tomatoes, and then 5oz tomatoes for 2oz of copper coin, leaving 1oz of coin to be pocketed for personal consumption. While accumulating coin per se is not malpractice, it is only one side of the equation. What is seldom seen is an attempt to decumulate these coins, say by offering 2oz of copper coin for 5oz tomatoes, then 5oz tomatoes for 1oz of coin.
While the latter may seem like a bizarre activity to those accustomed to today’s system of commerce, it can easily be reconciled when the goal of the market maker is shifted to facilitating exchange. Any goods that move onto their table from an exchange should eventually move off via counter-exchange. Market makers control the degree quantities that move on and off their table by manipulating their quotations, preventing too much of any one good being accumulated. Bids and offers thus revolve around the market maker’s table as consequence of this balancing act.
Exchange should be a voluntary activity between two individuals; that it remains free from inequality and exploitation is essential to the prosperity of those who participate (i.e. everyone). Using exchange to accumulate goods for one’s own consumption results in a market imbalance where the fruits of one’s labour is again tipped in favour of others. However, under a system of free exchange, participants could quickly identify such an imbalance and sanction the market maker accordingly. True market makers decumulate excess goods that move onto their table via counter-exchange to balance the market process. The term for this balancing process is the principle of zero flux.
To recapitulate, we have now established two prerequisites of free exchange. The primary and most important principle is the collective harmony of production which forms the basis of exchange. The secondary principle is the market maker who facilitates exchange under zero flux so that goods can be shared freely between us. Both factors promote collective wellbeing; however, restrictions still remain on the speed and distance goods can be exchanged over space-time. How does one reliably swap a surplus of strawberries in June 2023 for strawberries in June 2024? How does one exchange copper in Budapest for strawberries in London?
Bills of Exchange
Suppose a market maker offers a surplus of Strawberries in June 2023 in exchange for strawberries in June 2024. Such an offer might be acceptable for someone who is expecting strawberries in June 2024 but wants them in June 2023. If taken, both amounts of strawberries become linked over space-time[1]. At the point of harvest, one grower will enjoy the surplus strawberries they produce in the future, the other, in the past. To represent this connection a bill of exchange is drawn upon each party.
The initial agreement to exchange strawberries is the first exchange, which remains incomplete until final settlement (so-called second exchange). It is between these two exchanges that the notion of currency is born. From the point of first exchange a bill represents future goods that the bearer can then use to interact with other maker makers, and then market makers to others, and so on… forming a limitless [endorsement] chain of exchange until final settlement, after which the bill becomes obsolete and is removed from circulation. Critically, each time someone uses a bill as payment it becomes endorsed, meaning the user vouches for the quality of the bill and so accepts personal liability in cases of default. Endorsement therefore creates exceptional market equality and protection from fraud as great care must be taken, not only when receiving a bill of exchange as payment but also when using one.
The same connection can equally occur in the spatial dimension where one might offer strawberries in Budapest for copper in London, which incidentally could be agreed over any timescale. Hence June 2024 strawberries could pass through an unlimited number of hands and through an unlimited number of localities before final settlement. Indeed, bills of exchange represent free exchange by linking each interaction into a veritable web of exchange over space-time – unifying them into a single undivided whole. Without such a tool, these interactions would be open to exploitation as seen in today’s anonymised markets with limited liability. However, bills drawn on goods not born from market quotation, or from quotations where the goods’ production does not satisfy the principle of ahimsa, lack the necessary qualities of free exchange.
Summary
To summarise, free exchange crystallises over three critical levels that must each be present. Firstly, goods are to be produced in a harmonious and mutually beneficial way to form the basis of exchange. Secondly, the market makers’ hands that these goods flow through are to operate under the principle of zero flux to maintain market balance. Finally, bills of exchange should be drawn on each exchange to allow unhindered movement over space-time, unifying the set of collective exchanges into a single undivided whole. Without any one of these pre-requisites, exploitation and inequality are allowed to endure and exchange ceases to be free.
Bibliography
- Frawley, D. (1999), Yoga & Ayurveda, Lotus press, Wisconsin.
- Jaitly, S. K. (2022), Notes on Bill of Exchange Circulation and Growing Produce, Available at: https://purelytheoreticalresearch.com/upload/Notes-on-bill-of-exchange-circulation-and-growing-produce.pdf(Accessed 28th June 2023)
- Laithwaite, E. (1987), Science at Work: Using Materials, Franklin Watts, London.
- Raju, C. K. (2013), The Harmony Principle, Philosophy East and West, 63(4), pp. 586-604
[1] Note that goods involved in a space-time swap may exist where there is not yet a market for them. For example, despite having a bill that matures into strawberries in 2024, there may not yet be offers for them, giving the holder of the bill a sort of quasi-savings. These quantities form the basis of new markets as settlement draws nearer.
23.3.24
‘How goes the world, sir, now?’
Recent world events may have left you despairing about the state of humanity. News and other media allow us to witness and keep up to date with developments on a minute by minute basis. The upside to this is that we are kept ‘informed’, though sometimes it might feel better not to know! (and keep in mind the subjectivity and bias of most news sources), but on the other hand, social media quickly latch on to events and they can become distorted in no time.
It seems everyone using social media has, indeed is required to have, an opinion on pretty much everything. Reactive behaviour proliferates; online spats, abuse and trolling abound and a nasty, negative mess ensues.
Recent events have significantly reinforced polarised opinions and reactions are often dictated by political allegiances, dogma and crude tribalism. Defensiveness and paranoia are rulers in this world, as are Pavlovian and knee-jerk reactions which reflect a deeply engrained negative mindset. This is a closed world in which creative solutions are starved of oxygen and openness has no place.
How judgemental this sounds!
‘There’s no such thing as good or bad, but thinking makes it so..’
Shakespeare’s words remind us that judging and labelling are activities of the mind and the ego. The latter loves to comment and judge because it makes it feel better about itself and gives it something to do. The danger is that we end up being ‘too much in the mind’ and these attachments spiral out of control.
In his third book’ A New Earth’ Eckhart Tolle does not hold back in his assessment of the state of the world:
‘The collective manifestations of the insanity that lies at the heart of the human condition constitute the greater part of human history. It is to a large extent a history of madness. If the history of humanity were the clinical case history of a single human being, the diagnosis would have to be : chronic paranoid delusions, a pathological propensity to commit murder and acts of extreme violence and cruelty against his perceived ‘enemies’ – his own unconsciousness projected outward. Criminally insane, with a few brief lucid intervals.’
And in the earlier ‘Power of Now’, he is characteristically enlightening about this self-created pain and its origin – fear :
‘Fear seems to have many causes. Fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of being hurt, and so on, but ultimately all fear is the ego’s fear of annihilation. To the ego, death is always just around the corner. In this mind-identified state, fear of death affects every aspect of your life. For example, even such a seemingly trivial and “normal” thing as the compulsive need to be right in an argument and make the other person wrong – defending the mental position with which you have identified – is due to the fear of death. If you identify with a mental position, then if you are wrong, your mind-based sense of self is seriously threatened with annihilation. So you as the ego cannot afford to be wrong. To be wrong is to die. Wars have been fought over this, and countless relationships have broken down.’
The good news is that Eckhart does go on to postulate an end to this madness through a raising of human consciousness, which he claims is beginning to emerge. He stresses though that this has to begin with the individual and that transformation will not be manifest if :
‘people attempt to change external reality – create a new earth – without prior change in their inner reality, their state of consciousness. They make plans without taking into account the blueprint for dysfunction that every human being carries within ; the ego.”
