mynameisponcho

“If every action has a consequence, and every action begins with a choice, and every choice begins with a thought, why not make the thought the best it can be! We all need to start taking personal responsibility for our thoughts and the consequences which arise from them. I plan to, how about you?”
alan macmillan orr


january 2010
Well, here we are in 2010 two years away from our impending doom in 2012. Even if everyone is wrong about the end of the world coming soon to a town near you, climate change is going to get you, and if that's not enough to start you having a panic attack, the terrorists are going to get you, and even if none of that happens we are in economic meltdown, and soon we will be scavenging through the bins in a most consumer nightmare created by, we are told, us. You see, everything is your fault. The government has warned you of your errant ways. You who have mortgages you cannot afford, you who spend too much on frivolous consumer goods, you who are ruining the planet with your excessive flying! You who... Ok you get the point.
It is noone elses fault but yours and yours alone, and while we're at it, you are more than likely to blame for the current spate of muslim extremism perpetrated against the peaceful axis of western love and goodwill to all man. You see, you and your liberal friends have allowed these evil people to have the ability to board our aeroplanes and kill us all – us all!

Oh my god, we're all going to die!

If you believe all the conspiracy theorists, the scientists, the government, the mayans, and anyone else who believes we are all doomed, you may be beginning to start to feel the fear rising up within you now. So what's the answer? Will recycling, banning airplanes from the sky, locking up anyone who looks like they might be a “terrorist” save us all? Will being more careful with our money, having tight government control over the banks save us all? No. The sad fact is, what you were hoping I wouldn't say, I am going to – you are going to die. Every last one of you. And this is no empty threat – I mean it. You are going to die.
So how does that feel? Knowing what I said was not some prophecy but something that was going to happen to you? Are you scared, or do you, like me accept that in the cycle of life, where there is a beginning there must be an end.
Now I am not here to argue the case for or against heaven and hell, reincarnation or any “post-life” activity, merely to point out that there seems to be some very strong evidence that at some point in life we “die”. Now you may say that we are all made of energy and we can never die, but what I am talking is the basic stuff, you know, where it seems that continuing human “life” is controlled by a beating heart. Heart beating = Good. Heart not beating = Bad.
So now we've got that out the way and we are all happy to accept that life as we know it will not continue in its same form forever, and that change is inevitable, let us get on with the business of living.


Living – it's quite good

I like living, it has it's ups and downs, or should I say, I have my ups and downs (i.e. my emotional state changes, as does my financial state) but on the whole, life's good. I get to experience the earth, the joy and pain of others, the suffering of the animals, the hatred, the kindness, the greed and the benevolence, the destruction and the beauty.
Some of you may have what you see as a terrible life, and others may see you as having rather a good life. You may think you are poor and others may think you are rich, or vice versa. Some of you may be suffering with mental stress, whilst others may be being tortured physically.
Wherever we turn in the world someone is suffering in some way or another. But whilst we are alive we have the power to change the world.




It's all about me

That's right, it is all about me! And indeed it is. You see, we are the only one's experiencing life, no one else can experience life for us, no matter how much money we paid them. And that's why I'm here to talk to you about changing the world. Just send a cheque to ….. Well that's what we normally do, isn't it? Or we run off down to our nearest african country where everyone is starving to death and help change the world.
But let's look at this a bit differently shall we? We have said that we can see the world is in a terrible state, and we agree that we would like to do something about it, so how do we go about helping change the world. Without even leaving our own home. Well, it is simple, but maybe too simple for everyone who is always looking for a “complex resolution to a complex problem”.
So here it is, the definitive way to change the world. Wait for it... Ok, ready? The answer you have all been waiting for... “Change yourselves”.
“Change myself?” I hear you say. “Why did I waste my time reading this? I could have done something more useful with my time than reading some guy's story that ends with telling me to change myself!”
But I'd like you to stop and think for a moment.
And let's go into this very slowly and carefully shall we?
If I am the only one who can experience this life, then who can change? You see, we all want everyone else to change, we want to help “people” change, and like all other things we try and do they are external whereas experiencing life is a purely internal matter.
“Wait a minute” says you. “What about people who go around killing people, or people who harm the environment, that is external not internal!”
And you'd be right! But violence is the external result of an internal state, and only by the experiencer changing that internal state can the external world change. You may be able to forcefully change people's actions through threat or coercion, but that is an imposed change, not one
that has been come to through the cultivation of insight and the development of awareness.
“But we live in a dangerous world, we can't just wait around for people to change!” says you, the government, the human/animal rights activists, the environmentalists, the church, and everyone else concerned with “change”... “We have to DO something!”
So, go ahead, DO it! Change, and let that be the end of it.
“But just one person changing won't change the world.!” says you. But why are you still worried about “the world?” When it is only you who can experience it? You have become a vegetarian/gone green/given up your consumer lifestyle/transcended anger & violence, why are you still concerned with the external? By changing your internal world you have immediately affected your external world, but it is not enough for you, you want change to happen faster, you want to see your changes reflected on a global scale. Why? Why is it not enough for you to change and be the best you can be for yourself and everyone else, and then just enjoy life?

Personal time

If we accept that the earth has been around for a long time (whoever the original creator) we must accept that change is always happening, it's just difficult for us to see! Even objects we think are solid are always changing, nothing is fixed in time, everything is changing state from moment to moment. So when we say we want to see change in the human world, it is the same as saying we want to see the rock change! We are just not on this planet long enough to witness the change. So we say we are not prepared to wait for the rock to change so we invent a hammer and “make” the rock change!
It is the same in the human world where we may say we want to see an end to all suffering in the animal world. If we change and stop eating meat and its associated products, we have made a change, but it is not enough is it? We want the whole world to be vegetarian and we will tireless campaign and try to force everyone to become vegetarian, instead of just allowing the world to change at its own pace and concentrate on our own lives.
But I can see people's frustrations and why they want to effect a change NOW. On the surface I can see that governments and people in power generally are making this world a fairly fearful and violent place to live in, but hasn't that been the case since man first started organising himself into groups with leaders? Democracies and dictatorships come and go, and so do leaders; there have been countless revolutions, and millions of people have died by the hand of the fellow man, whether by the sword, gun, bomb, or by a lethal chemical concoction all in the name of freedom.
Some people murder others and are then tried, sentenced to death and murdered by the same system which they may have voted for!
Some people steal to buy drugs, others go to work all week only to pay for an accepted legal drug – alcohol, to blot out the memory of having to get up at dawn to work for money to pay for the drug to blot out the memory of having to get up at dawn... you get the picture!


Enough already!

I know I'm bored listening to me going on about how everything is so terrible, and that people are terrible – things aren't so bad if you just keep your head down and don't complain. If you conform you can have rather a nice life. Stick in at school, and university and you may get a good job with good chances of promotion, and you'll meet someone you fall in love with, you'll get married, buy a house with a long loan from the bank, then you'll have children and you'll make sure they get the best opportunity in life, and watch them grow up and have their own families, and you will retire and go on cruises and eventually die, where if you believe in god you will go to a lovely place called heaven, and everything will be just perfect...You have been a perfect cog in the wheel and your country really appreciated it.
So stick to the winning formula and you will be alright.
Unfortunately if you don't or can't conform you are destined to live out a miserable life here on earth and maybe in hell. You have not been a perfect cog in the wheel and are viewed by most as a blight on the perfect society. So if you have the wrong education, job, religion, clothes, passport, colour, street address, etc. do not expect too much from your life.

Why can't I have what you have?

So why should I live a miserable life in poverty, or surrounded by violence when you live a “perfect” life in a lovely house in the country, surrounded by a lovely family, beautiful rolling hills, and plenty to eat and drink? Why can't I have what you have? Why aren't the government/aid agencies/army/police/doctors/anyone doing more to alleviate my suffering? Why must this pain go on? I just want a better life.
And I agree with you. Why can't you have a better life? After all, you deserve it! But first let's look at what a better life means. Does it mean the ability to go on three holidays a year, and buy random consumer goods whenever you like, and have someone come in and clean your house every day? Or does it mean wanting to experience a life free from violence, where you have enough food, to eat, clean drinking water, a roof to put over your head, and clothing?
You see, both are possible, wherever you live in the world, they both just require a change in your state of mind. So instead of saying “I wish I had a better life”, and feeling helpless you make a conscious decision to change the way you think and create the change for yourself. Remember, anything is possible, you are a part of the most intelligent species on the planet.

A change in state of mind.

So although we can't see external change as quickly as we would like, due to our extremely short time here on earth, we can effect an instantaneous change – that of our state of mind, where we choose to experience life as a powerful creator, not as a helpless victim. And if you want to experience life through having more possessions, whilst remembering there is no inter-dimensional shipping service (as the egyptians probably found out), then that is what you must do; if you want to experience life as a powerful dictator, intent on murdering anyone who crosses you, then that is what you must do. If you want to experience life as someone who dedicates their life to trying to convert others to their religion, then that is what you must do. Remember, you are the creator of your world. But your internal choices may have far reaching consequences in the external world. But as long as you are prepared to accept that cost, whether it be environmental or human, then all is well.
But whilst making your internal choices, ask yourself why you really want to be powerful, rich, etc. as these are mere temporary states. Imagine for one moment, that the way you chose to experience life was free of all these temporary states, where desire, greed, and their opposites were absent in your internal world, where you were neither a peaceful nor a violent man. Where you were neither a rich nor a poor man.

No peace and No violence

I can hear you grumbling that this doesn't make any sense, but I am trying to convey to you the concept that one cannot exist without the other. So whilst we keep opposing states in our mind we can never truly be free.
We are always told that peace is better than war, rich is better than poor, music is better than no music, but in order to get to the heart of it all, we have to go much deeper, not into the mystical cosmos, the ethereal, but into our own brains, the most advanced computer known to man!
It is here we can start to deconstruct the concepts that we have been conditioned to believe throughout our lives, by our parents, peers, teachers, religions, leaders, and traditions. Where we can start to explore the concepts that we surround ourselves with – anger, love, hate, jealousy, desire, and greed amongst others, and by deconstructing them and transcending them, reduce them to a pile of dust.
“But why should we do this” say you. “What purpose is there to do this it doesn't seem like much fun!” And I agree, why would you? Well, I'm not about to tell you that you should do this, or should do that, it is entirely up to you, as this is your life experience, as choosing to share what I am thinking is mine. There is no obligation on you to explore your inner landscape, transcend violence, or give up shopping at the mall! What you choose to experience is up to you! Do you understand?
But wouldn't it be fun to find out if there is a state of being that is, and no more? No? But why not? Finding out, as I did, that I was a greedy, angry, jealous hateful person, with a twist of addiction was not one that I expected to uncover on my personal journey into what it meant to be human. I expected to find a life of joy and love, but instead found an empty space where love had dissolved along with anger, where compassion had dissolved along with selfishness.
It was only through understanding the state which I can only describe as a straight vertical line in my mind where all opposing states merge into one, that I have managed to carry on living fairly happily in this world.

And now?


So have we learned anything? Have we managed to save the world from impending doom? Have we stopped people from starving to death, or being murdered by lunatic dictators? Have we brought clean drinking water to those in need?
A charge sometimes levelled at me, and the project I run, the natural mind project is “but what do you do? You don't actually DO anything. You do not have clean water projects, or fairtrade exchanges in third world companies.”
A fair point, granted, but there are already many organisations engaged in activities aimed to save as many people as they can. To make other people's lives better, to slowly improve things... But on the other hand there are many people engaged in activities deliberately aimed at making people's lives worse. We seem to be engaged in a constant battle between those who wish to help, and those who wish to destroy.
I know we have covered this already but whether you call it good vs evil, or anything else, creating opposing states creates division in the same way that by defining blue vs green you have created division (as can be seen in rival team colours or different flags).
We need to resolve division, not between black and white, good and evil, muslim and christian, but in our minds. For when all division is resolved in our internal worlds it shall be resolved in the external. We just may not see the change spread throughout the world as fast as we would like (remember we're not here very long)

Firefighting!

We keep trying to “fix” the world when actually, the world (as in planet earth) is in perfect balance, it is only we humans who are not. And we will never be able to save everyone, nor save the planet. Now some of you may think that attitude a bit harsh, that I have lost all my compassion, but it may be precisely our compassion that may be the undoing of us all! We constantly show compassion in the form of medicine, saving people who would otherwise have died, we have developed clean water in cities, and have governments that look after our needs, all the while protecting us from evil terrorists and criminals. We now have a population that has doubled in the last 50 years. but the fact remains that nearly seven billion people now live on this planet, all with their own conditioned minds, all pushing their opinions, and violence onto others, blindly crashing through life without any awareness of themselves in relationship with the rest of the world, how any of their thoughts and actions are affecting other humans, species, or the delicate balance of planet earth.
So don't worry about your carbon emissions, or the end of the world in 2012, concentrate on understanding your own mind, and focussing on exploring why you think the way you and the rest will take care of itself.
Oh, and please don't enforce your thoughts/choices on other people. Always ask yourself how you would feel if someone was trying to force you to do something. Erm... that applies to you too mum and dad!

We must conform - it's the only way!

Non-conformists are seen as a bit of a weird bunch. Either seen as anarchists who wish to destabilise the society, or as social misfits, unable to slot into "normal" operating behaviour. But what does it mean to really not conform?
 

Whilst walking the streets of scotland's capital city, edinburgh, on the hunt for new premises at the beginning of last year, for the start of the natural mind project, I asked myself why I was doing this. Why was I starting a project that was ultimately to remove the power of money for our basic needs? And I
couldn't come up with an answer straight away.
You see, as I was walking down the main street, I looked at everyone around me, busily hurrying past with their shopping bags, filled to the brim with food, presents, and whatever else took their fancy. Did they care that I thought we were heading in complete the wrong direction as a species?
No, of course they didn't. In fact they didn't even know what I was thinking.

But I can understand that. After all, if “new” me, told “old” me, the same things I am talking to you about ten years ago, I would have told myself I was mad! “What? You starting a project where the main aim is not to charge any money, you must be crazy!” So it is with that thought in mind that I
decided to tread very carefully. You see, even ten years ago, I was not a bad person. I didn't set out to deliberately hurt anyone, or harm the environment, although that was what was probably happening by my lack of awareness. I just did what everyone else did. I conformed. I knew that in order to eat, pay my bills, go to the cinema, and go on holiday, I needed to earn money. It was drilled into me from a young age, so I never thought anymore about it. I just did what I was told was necessary for me to have a happy life. So I am not going to criticise anyone for conforming. It is just a feature of the mind being asleep!

So if I happily conformed for many years, why should anyone else stop conforming? Why shouldn't they deny themselves the pleasure of christmas; the pleasure of a nice house and holidays; the pleasure of a new flat screen television and consumer goods? Who am I to tell people they don't
need money to be happy? Who am I to tell people that the life they are living is perhaps an illusion created by companies, governments, and religions? But it is an illusion, even if you believe me or not. Not in the way the spiritualists would have you believe but in a real down to earth “illusion”
kind of way.

I am not saying the earth itself is an illusion, or the birds singing in the trees is an illusion, but the things we surround our human self with – are.
You see, I want to know who I would be if I no longer had a house, or nice clothes, or holidays, or the ability to go on a plane, or be told I was clever. I want to know who I would be without electricity, and modern media. I want to know who I would be without my education, and the culture of my country. I want to know what it means to be human – conforming just makes it harder to find out.

So I have chosen not to conform; not because I wish to rebel, but because I wish to go deeper than conformity will allow, do you understand? I want to go deep into my human self. I want to know where it all went wrong for homo sapiens. I want to know why we have divided ourselves from nature.

As I looked around me that week week, all I could see was the faces of conformity. Surely this was not a species of explorers labelled as the most intelligent species on the planet? This was a species of automatons – doing whatever they had been programmed to do. Am I wrong? I hope so. But to find
out, conforming is the last thing we should be doing.

Break free of conformity. Open your mind.

So what's going on? What has happened to our beautiful baby? There is no easy answer, but it starts with our parents, followed swiftly by our teachers, our peers...

Ok, so you've heard it all before. "There's nothing new here" you say. "Tell us the answer" you say. But if we really want to find out what is happening to our beautiful baby (remember every baby is a pure human being, ready to give and receive love) we are going to have to do a little bit more investigation.

Of who? Of ourselves of course. We must deconstruct everything we are, everything we believe. Everything we cling onto so dearly. Everything we thing is truth. Everything we believe makes us human.

We must take everything that anyone has ever told us and challenge it. We must stop believing that the government, our parents, our teachers, our employers, etc... know what's best for us. How can they? They were conditioned by their parents and the wider society before they started conditioning you.
Of course, if you still want to live in a violent, greedy, wasteful world, you can just forget we ever read this, and carry on as normal...

"Actually, that's a good idea" says you. "I'm not interested in all this nonsense. There's nothing wrong with me. And anyway, I'm much too busy for all this. I don't know why I ever came to this site." And that's your right as a human.

But if you, like me, have started to wonder how we, homo sapiens, the most intelligent species on the planet, have become so addicted, so greedy, so jealous, so fearful, so dominating (etc etc!) then maybe you have come to the right place. You see, I never gave a damn about anything or anybody else in life apart from myself, but then one day, I started to wake up. Wake up to what you ask? Well, nothing in particular, just the realisation that maybe all was not well on the planet that I inhabited. That all was not well with the way I was thinking. That all was not well with the way I was treating others.
So I started to write down things I believed were important to me, and to others in the world, and started to explore them. These explorations turned into the natural mind - waking up. I had no desire to sell millions of books, just to share my short journey into what it meant for me to be human with others. The book is not the ultimate guide to being human, that, unfortunately, you will have to find out for yourselves. But I promise you one thing, when you start your journey you will uncover more about yourself, the species we belong to and the world as a whole, than you would ever believe.
But don't take my word for it. Go and find out for yourselves. Unravel the conditioning that you have been burdened with and find a truly amazing universe waiting to be explored. And if you don't fancy trying it, then my advice is - don't! I cannot force you to change, for who am I to tell you what to change into! I cannot live your life. Your life is yours, and yours alone - although, as you will find out - the world is rather more connected than you first believe.

I wish you luck on your journey, although, ultimately, the life you live hasn't got much to do with luck, and isn't probably pre-destined either! If you decide to read the book, and start your own journey of self discovery, be aware that there is no easy path. You have been conditioned your entire life, and to deconstruct all that you are may be a painful process. I know! 
But wouldn't it be great to be able to throw away the labels and find out once and for all, who you are underneath the drug addiction, the power, the fast cars, the poverty, the money (or lack of it), the job, the family, the children, the education, the titles? No? Well, I still wish you well in life! 

Enjoy your short time on this planet. I plan to. But at the same time I  remember that I share it with 6 billion of you, and the countless millions of
other species, quietly spinning somewhere in space.
Oh, who's the baby? That's me of course! Before I was conditioned! Wasn't I beautiful!?

Is everything in life inter-connected?

Before we start our discussion, let's get one thing clear. When we talk of the whole we are not talking about god, or the universe. What concerns us here is how we see the world, and how we interact with it, be it with people or the physical environment. This is a topic all about connections.

It is about clearly seeing the consequences of our thoughts and actions, and making a shift to ensure compassion and love for everything filters through the supply chain!
 

Let us start by agreeing that every action has a consequence (good or bad, is merely subjective). So when I buy a takeaway meal deal from a well known burger restaurant, that action has a consequence. You may not see it straight away but let us look into it carefully. On the plus side, I have been fed quickly and cheaply, and people have been provided with employment in many countries thanks to my purchase. But on the negative side, there is widespread litter, huge use of resources to make the food, and the packaging; widespread deforestation to provide space for cattle to graze. Massive use of land and water to grow and feed cattle. Unnecessary deaths of millions of cattle in agony before being minced up! You may argue that it's just the way of the world, and I am
certainly not here to criticise your choices in life, after all, they are your choices; BUT, if you cannot see the connections, and how the simple act of eating a takeaway is a violent act (towards the environment, and the cattle) the human world will never become compassionate, and we will sink further into chaos.

But before you all get too depressed reading this, how about a nice story to cheer you up? It's all about a lettuce, and its personal journey from a seed to the rubbish tip. Watch for the connections.

The pointless existence of a restaurant lettuce...

I don't know about your country, but in the uk it is commonplace to provide a “garnish” with the meal, which is basically a small side salad comprising lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and maybe some mixed peppers, or coleslaw, and a salad dressing (oil and vinegar). For several thousand meals I carried on putting the side salad on without a thought. Then one day, I had a moment of clarity, and I became aware of my actions.

I was mid-way through scraping the almost untouched side salad off a plate and into the bin, when it came to me. “Someone has grown this food from a seed (maybe even in a different country) and I am throwing it into a bin where it will become compost or more likely landfill!” So I created a little
flow chart which went something like this.

Take a seed and plant it which requires peat/compost water, labour, and a plastic container if it is not grown in the field directly from seed (and electricity if it's on a production line). The seed is nurtured using water, electricity and labour. The seed needs space to grow and so a field is needed.
The lettuce is constantly watered and may be sprayed with chemicals, which requires labour. At the allotted time, the lettuce is harvested, which uses labour. The lettuce is washed at the farm which uses water, labour, and electricity. The lettuce is packed, which requires plastic, and labour. The
lettuce is transported to either a distribution point, or market, which uses fuel and labour. The lettuce is purchased by the pub or restaurant, which requires money, labour and fuel to deliver it.

The lettuce is then stored in a refrigerator, which uses electricity. The lettuce is then washed a minimum of two to three times to make sure there are no bugs left in it, which uses water and labour. The lettuce is then stored in the fridge which again uses electricity. The order comes up for a
steak and chips (with a garnish of course), and the lettuce (and all the other salad ingredients which also have had to follow the same process) is served onto the plate, which uses labour. The meal is delivered to the customer, which requires labour. The customer eats the steak and chips and ignores the lettuce. The lettuce is then transported back to the kitchen which uses labour. The lettuce is put in the bin using labour. The bin is then put outside using labour. The rubbish is collected using labour and fuel, and something happens to it (either burial, or maybe composting if we're lucky) which uses fuel and labour. Any questions?

Please feel free to go over this again if you feel there is a point you would like to argue.

Over and over, I saw this happening, until one day I decided to put a stop to it. I told the management I was no longer going to be putting something on a plate that was being ignored as it was a complete waste of food, which is precious (maybe not to us, but think of the people who are
starving). Do you know what? They weren't even interested. I was told to keep putting it on as customers “liked a bit of greenery” on their plate. It didn't matter what they left on their plate, because “it was all included in the price.”

This really shocked me. I tried to explain that just because we had paid the farmer, and the customer had paid us, didn't make it right to waste food. I was told to either keep doing it or “if I didn't like it, I could find another job,” which I did.

I couldn't believe how irresponsible people were. How could they not care that we were wasting so much? The more I looked into waste, the more I realised that the only thing that was important to businesses was getting paid, and the only thing that was important to the customer was getting what he wanted. After he had paid for it, it was nobody's business what he did with it.

Easy come, easy go. That should be the motto of the developed world these days, especially in massive consumer countries like the usa, uk, and australia (and any other country that values these ideals). We have no idea of the process to get a product from concept to the consumer, and the amount of input and effort required or the number of people involved. But then it hit me. Whether
we needed the product, or even used it, didn't matter a damn. What was important were the steps in between. These steps created the wealth of the country, and kept people in jobs.

How many times have you been into bargain stores and picked up some plastic rubbish made in china for £1.00? You certainly didn't need it, it wouldn't last long before falling to bits, and you probably wouldn't use it. You bought it because it was there, and you wanted it!

It seems to me that waste is an inevitable consequence of economic development. There are only so many things that people (or the country) really need in life, and that wouldn't keep everyone in jobs. So they have to produce things that people don't need or in the case of that poor side salad, don't even want in order that people stay in work. Think about it.

If the pub I worked for didn't buy 100 lettuces a week for their pointless side salads, what would happen to the poor old farmer? He needs to make a living too you know! What if everyone decided not too put garnishes on the plate as eye candy? The farmer would get no more orders, he wouldn't be able to pay his bills, and pretty soon he would be broke. And we know what could happen there
don't we? He would start to drink heavily, he would become a burden on the taxpayer, his self-esteem would diminish, and he wouldn't be able to pay his own taxes anymore, which would mean that the government would have less money to spend on essential projects such as defence.

“Look, let’s save ourselves all this trouble, and be good consumers and keep demanding a garnish on your plate” says the minister.

“Don't deny us our Garnish” will be on the placards waved wildly by stooges from the garnish industry.

“Don't worry farmers” says the minister, whilst attempting to pacify the angry mob. “Pretty soon,the consumer will come round, then you'll all be back in business.” Cheers and shouts of “Hoorah!” can be heard up and down the country...


Well, what do you think? Is waste a natural by-product of economic development or does it show that we have a long way to go in our understanding of the whole. Remember. Everything is connected. You cannot deny it, you cannot ignore it.

When you buy an apple from the shop there are connections all the way back to the tree. Now I am not saying you shouldn't have the apple, but what I want to know is, do you know what happened along the way? Was the earth being treated with compassion when the apples were being grown? Were the humans who picked the apples being treated with compassion and treating the trees with
compassion? Did love go into packing them and shipping them? Did they use more inputs to grow the apples than the final output? Was water, chemicals, fuel for transport, and electricity for refrigeration, etc used? Of course! But as long as someone gets paid at each stage along the way it doesn't matter if you don't even eat the apple. Does it?

You may think these stories are very simplistic, but when you start to question everything you think, do and buy, you may just start to make the connections, and decide to make a shift – which as you would expect, has a consequence. So when you decide to stop buying products from a country that has a terrible human rights record, you are making a shift that will have a consequence. When
you stop eating meat you are making a shift that has a consequence. Do you understand? But you cannot look outward. You must start with yourself. You must look at every thought and choice you make, and asking yourself, “what is the knock-on effect of making this choice?” It makes no difference if you are questioning yourself about murdering another human being, or buying a new
laptop. The consequences may be different, but the process of analysing the connections is the same, and there are always consequences with every action. Make a commitment to learning to see the whole and maybe, just maybe, we may start to take some responsibility for our actions.

The Whole

Many people do yoga, belong to spiritual/religious groups, or are vegetarians, or carry a “bag for life” to the supermarket, or buy organic meat and vegetables; but how many people are actually seeing the whole? How many people can actually see that the inside reflects the outside? How many christian charity workers still buy products from companies linked to oppressive work practices, or have put money in a bank which lends to the very regimes that are oppressing the people they wish to help? How many vegetarians still get angry at their partners, or are nationalistic, or support war (even if they are pacifists) by continuing to pay their taxes to the government? Do you see?
Everything is important. Everything is connected. Until we can see everything, we will continue to live a fragmented existence – a double life. We will continue to be divided.

There is no point in becoming a monk, dedicating yourself, to a life of peace, and meditating all day if your charity is funded by companies and individuals whose businesses may be helping to fun (even inadvertently) wars, human and animal suffering, or environmental destruction. Everything is important! We must make all the connections. We must follow the paper trail all the way back to the source and validate each stage according to the principles of compassion. Sounds too difficult?

Well, that is precisely why the world is in such turmoil now.. Anything that looks too difficult is left for someone else to deal with. And who might that be? Anybody else.

Is everything we do in life controlled by the need for money?

One simple question. "Would you still do what you do if nobody paid you any money to do it?" Would you still go to war? Would you still want to be president? Would you still want to police the nation?

Ok, I think you get the idea. But it really is a simple question; unfortunately, not one that we pose ourselves often enough. You see, we are told that we must go to school to become educated so we can get a job and contribute to society; but no other species on the planet (no exception) uses the currency of money to fulfil their basic needs. Our basic physical needs as humans are as simple as getting food and water to survive, having some shelter to escape the elements, and clothing to protect ourselves from the cold.

You see, as a species, we have created an environment where having money is absolutely essential to our existence. No longer can we build our own shelters where we wish, as every piece of land is owned by either a government or individual. All our food comes from companies who charge money for it; as does our water and clothing. We are now enslaved into gaining money by whatever
means just in order to live!

So we take jobs where we never question the negative effects on the environment or on other human beings, caused by our chosen profession.

If I desperately need money to feed my family, or to pay the rent, would I take any job? Would I do whatever was necessary to fulfill that need, even if someone else would suffer? Unfortunately, the answer is probably yes. Why should you starve, and end up on the streets, when there is a job that
can make you and your family's life easier? Would you work for a weapons manufacturer, a criminal, a fast food establishment, a supermarket, a construction company, a bank....?

Of course you would. When your basic needs are not being filled, you have to resort to desperate measures. You certainly do not stop to question: "What are the knock-on effects of my actions in this connected world?"
 

Money free?
 
Most of you would say "why would I want a money free society (even if was possible)? I like my life; money makes my life on earth happier and more comfortable." And most people would agree with you. But if the other species happily exist in this world without money, could we have potentially have taken a wrong turn in creating a money-centric society? You see money is fine
when you have plenty of it; but when you don't, you desire it, and the desperate need for money(which as you remember is really just to fulfill your basic needs) starts to dictate your actions. You are then a slave to it.

Do you not think it time that we started to question why we need money? "Why do I need money? Is there not a better way to fulfill my basic needs?"

Unfortunately, you will not come up with a solution. Why? Because it has become part of us. We are now bonded together in relationship with it. We cannot exist without it. Isn't that sad?

We may not have a solution to living without it right now, but isn't it time we accepted that we are its servant, and investigated how it would be possible to reduce the power it has over us? No? You may not think so, and I'll tell you who else doesn't want you to investigate it; The rich and the powerful. They like having control over us.
Think about it.

It's the question we can't stop asking...

In the book, I asked the question “What is the ultimate meaning of life?” seeing as billions of us ask it at least once in our lives. But rather than give you an answer to that question here, let us go outside for a moment.

“It is winter in england now. The temperature is minus three, there is a hard frost on the ground, and with the wind chill factor, it feels more like minus eight (so says the weather forecaster). Ok. Now let us imagine that I am suddenly thrown out of my dwelling with only the clothes I am wearing (jeans and a shirt). I have no money, and nowhere to go.

As the day continues, the temperature drops further. I am now beginning to get hungry and the cold is really starting to affect me. Yesterday I was a man with a high powered job, I had a car, a warm house, warm expensive clothes, and plenty to eat. Yesterday I was thinking about where I would go on holiday this year, exhibitions I would visit. I thought of what I would do in the evening; perhaps I would go out for a nice meal with my friends, or perhaps go to the movies, followed by a pizza afterwards. Today I stand in an alien land. I do not know how to interact with it, yet I am told that I am part of it.

It is now dark. I am very hungry and I do not know if I will make it through the night, I am so cold; my mind that yesterday had thoughts of holidays and fun can only think of where I will find warmth, and some food. I am getting desperate. I find a bridge to sleep under, and spend the night shivering, as my body tries to generate some heat. For the first time in my life I am scared, really scared. What will happen to me? Will I die?

I fall into a shallow sleep but am awoken with a start as I hear cars going over the bridge. Got to find food, got to find shelter, got to find some warm clothes I think to myself. I can feel myself getting desperate. My mind is not so clear. It is racing, jumbled. I am so very cold...

I look at my watch. It's 6.00am, the shops won't be open for another three hours. But even when they are open, how can I go in? I already look dishevelled. My shirt is creased, and I am starting to grow stubble. My mouth tastes disgusting, my hair is unkempt. I feel terrible.

7.00 am, 8.00 am... Finally 9.00 am. I find the nearest large store and walk in. Oh how the heating feels good against my cold skin... I hurriedly go to the toilets and wash myself in the warm water and the luxurious soap, and take time to savour the heat from the dryer. Soon I will have to go outside again, I will not be able to stay in this shop for too long. I must get some food. Where can I
get food from? I have no money to buy anything. I need a coat, but where will I get one? I am so very cold and very tired.

Maybe I could ask someone for some money for food, maybe I could steal a jacket. Maybe I could steal some food.... I leave the shop and head out into the cold again. The wind is icy against my shirt. I must eat. I must get warm. I find a large food store where I won't be noticed and walk around. All this food available but because I have no money I cannot eat. Perhaps if I steal
something I will be stopped, reported to the police and they will feed me in the cells... Oh how I need to sleep. Where will I go tonight? I cannot bear to spend another night under that bridge. I cannot face another night of shivering and the constant waking up.... What will I do?


Ok, I think we'll leave it there for now. It's only been one day, and one night, yet our subject who has been left penniless and homeless is already desperate. He cannot think about tomorrow, let alone where he will be going on holiday later in the year. His life, as he knows it, is over. His life of
business, fine wines, and friends, and exhibitions is no more. He will wonder to himself how he will go on living. And with good reason. You see, being outdoors as a human in winter with only a shirt and a pair of jeans is not going to keep you warm for long. Perhaps and hour or two max. But then
the cold starts to bite into the flesh and the body has to work harder to keep itself warm; but to do this it needs food...

What is the ultimate meaning of life? You have your answer the moment you step out the front door into the cold. Suddenly the question that people have been posing for thousands of years is answered in a flash.


As humans, we use our big brains to invent new technologies; discuss politics and philosophy; and generally congratulate ourselves at being so damn clever. You see, no other species has achieved what we have. No other species has ambition like the human. In fact, come to think about it, there's a good reason. No other species needs anything the humans have invented! Why? Because they are perfect just as they are. “Nonsense!” Says you, “the only reason the other species haven't invented the things that we have, or have progressed as much as we have is because we have the biggest brain; we are the most intelligent species on the planet don't you know!” Blah Blah Blah

It seems to me that the human – great homo sapiens – with all his talk of creating better societies, helping the poor, saving the planet, etc etc is just passing time on this planet spinning somewhere. It seems to me that any purpose that homo sapiens had, has long since passed. Now, you may not agree with me here, and that's good! I want you to think for yourself. But I ask you now: What is the humans purpose on this planet? I do not believe our purpose is to educate ourselves, learn about ourselves, become enlightened, those are merely external activities.

We have come so far since our ancestors (if you believe in evolution) came out of the trees in africa, but where have we been going? Forwards or Backwards? “Forwards of course” say you. Look at what we have achieved in the last million years. We have invented everything from the wheel to agriculture; from discovering fire to firing a spacecraft into orbit. People are living longer thanks to us learning about the human body...” But is that a purpose or is it merely passing time?

We are born out of nature and nature reclaims the body to the earth at the time of death. In the in between time we call “living” the human mind is in control. So lets see what the human decides to do with his short time here shall we? Well you can probably guess can't you? He tries to condition and indoctrinate everyone to his way of thinking. He controls and subjugates. He criticises and
shouts. He is jealous. He is violent. He is greedy. He is aquisitive. He lives for money. Anything
else? He is afraid. He believes in supernatural beings. Then after all this. Dies. Great work homo sapiens.

So why do we behave like this? Well, I'd like to go back in time to have a word with the first person to experience thought and say “nooooo don't do it!! You have no idea the problems you will cause by thinking.” Thinking is what is causing us to behave like this. We have no idea what we would be
like if we hadn't been passed down faulty thinking through thousands of years. The way I see it. The faulty software that we originated with has been passed down to us and we now have no idea that it was faulty, as it has just been accepted by everyone, much in the same way everyone just accepted
microsoft windows bug ridden software! (oops I feel a law suit coming on)

Some religions say that we continue to experience this life until we have worked out where we are going wrong, where we finally are allowed to ascend to paradise, others say that you either party with angels or dance with the devil depending on what sort of life you have lived here! But I'm sorry but all religion is just man-made. Just the human, now surplus to requirements trying to fill his time here on earth by telling others of this afterlife, and how you have to live a “good” life to get to have sex with as many virgins as you want in heaven, and drink fine wine.

Maybe it's just me, but can anyone see how we, the human, who through his cleverness, has rendered himself unnecessary to the well-being of the planet, is now just passing time here. Pretending that life has some ultimate meaning, where in fact, as we saw in the previous story, when you are cold and hungry there is no other meaning to life, except fulfilling your basic needs.
We are pure animal, with the added bonus of being aware of ourselves, and being able to construct complex thought and languages; but the human is at its heart, a frail creature. We need clothing to keep out the elements, primarily through moving to areas where we were not well adapted to survive, and now, by the ruling society telling us that we must wear clothes. Once again, no other
species has this need. If we fall from a height our bones splinter and break, if you cut us we bleed.

I'm sorry, but if someone tells me one more time that man is not like the other species on the planet, that man is above all other species, then maybe they would agree to being pushed off a bridge (as an experiment you understand!).

But as we crash headlong through this life, trying to “improve” our lives we have forgotten that life was already perfect, it was our perception of life that wasn't . We perceive that we are unhappy. We compare ourselves to others constantly. But when we stop thinking, we can see that everything just
is. The tree just is. The bird in the tree just is. There is no meaning to those things, so why should we try to apply a meaning to our lives? Why? Because we can. Because we have thought to keep us busy. But as thought has been passed down through centuries of conditioning, and tradition, by
force and by education (sorry, where's the difference?) we start to believe it as originating from our own minds.

The world we live in is an illusion. Not in the way the spiritualists talk about, more in the way we are controlled and guided by a higher power (erm not god, the rich and powerful). They decide how our lives should be. They decide how our society should be. They decide what is right and wrong. If you no longer conform to society's expectations you will find a very different world from the one you left, although you do not need to move to experience it. We talk so much about all the great deeds man has done but the universe doesn't care, nor do the animals, and the birds, and ultimately all deeds will be forgotten as the world carries on after our death. Who will remember that you
knew about art and philosophy 10 million years from now? Who will care? I think you already know the answer; but still we fill our heads with knowledge and we pretend to all that we are more than we are – a human animal, homo sapiens, tourist of the universe.

The only meaning life has is the meaning you apply to it. Life has no inherent meaning, except eating, keeping warm (or cool) and procreating – the rest I'm afraid has been created in man's imagination. Sorry to disappoint you.

What is the meaning of your life? Write about it here!

Before any of you men out there start saying I am discriminating against you by not including the female mind, lets all stop and think about an article we saw on television or read in the papers last night, last week, last month, last year. Or while we're at it, how about a story we read in the history books about an event from one hundred, or a thousand years ago...
“Ok, what sort of story?” I can hear you asking. Well, how about a story of violence, oppression, genocide, hatred, division of people, religious persecution, extremism, desire, greed, ambition, status, robbery, murder, arson, power, anger, rage... Shall I go on?
“Yeah, but you can't blame all the men for that! Women have done all those things too!” You scream out in indignation at reading what I have just written. But hang on. We may not like hearing all those nasty things about ourselves, and yes some women have done some things of equal magnitude to their male counterparts. But given the statistics, I think we would all have to admit that us blokes (yes, I am a male and not a left wing, feminist) have got a few things to answer for!
As males, we are quite an angry lot. We fight in pubs, start wars, attempt to control anyone we come across – including our wife and children whom we love dearly of course. You see, as males, we are a pretty smart lot. We know what's best for everyone. We have everyone's best interest at heart. Don't we boys?
“But we are naturally aggressive, we are leaders, we are alpha males...”
But hang on, most of you wouldn't usually count yourself as part of the animal kingdom! You would tell me you are “part of homo sapiens, the most intelligent species on the planet.” So it's a fairly weak argument, don't you think?
So what's going on? Why do we beat up others (females included), start wars, start religions, and constantly want to be the boss? Why do we think we are the best? Why do we join criminal gangs, and rob banks? Why do we want to drive faster than anyone else on the road? Why do we crave excitement? Why do we want to climb mountains? Why do we want recognition for everything we do?
I can hear you all get a little hot under the collar, ranting about I've got a cheek talking to you all like this, and that maybe I might be like this, but it doesn't mean you're all like this! And ok, I did have a speedboat, broke the speed limit by as much as possible every minute of the day, jumped off bridges in canoes, wanted to be recognised as a high acheiver, and tried to bed any willing female! Ok, I admit I am not perfect, but fortunately never hurt anyone (physically at least), or went to war, or started a religious or political organisation.
So what is happening inside the mind? What processes are taking place in the male human mind?

Let's get fired up on testosterone!
I am not a scientist, but it seems that this little chemical has quite a few mischievous tricks up its sleeve! Could testosterone be the real cause of all the violence, and war in the world? Surely not! Surely it must be more complicated than that. Surely, the reason for male violence is to do with the way they were brought up by their family, the environment they lived in, their choices of friends, and other external influences? Surely, if testosterone were to blame then everyone would be running around killing everyone else, instead of the relatively small number of violent people in the world? What do you think? But there does seem to be something going on with testosterone! And people's capability or desire for violence does seem to tail off towards the end of their life, as testosterone diminishes.
Some of you must be starting to think that I hate men, but that cannot be true, or I would have to hate myself! I just want to explore why men seem to be responsible for most of the world's troubles for the past 10,000 years!
But I want to give men a break for now, because alongside all the violence, they have been quite a creative lot. Always pushing new boundaries. Always trying to improve their lot (sorry, and the lot of others). So maybe all the violence is just a by-product of creativity! After all, violence can get quite creative – just look at all the instruments of torture that have been invented! But on a brighter note... Sorry, is there one?
I think it's time we men woke up to the fact that we have been causing most of the problems in the world for as long as we have been around! It is time we started to become aware of ourselves. It is time we started to delve deep into ourselves, and find love and compassion for all. It is time we made a huge shift in our minds – before we end up destroying everything on the planet including ourselves.
Can we do it? Well, we are one part of the most intelligent species on the planet! Of course we can.