2012 | ‘Conscious Living’ is a Con Science

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Bella
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Joined: 14 Jun 2011, 13:07

2012 | ‘Conscious Living’ is a Con Science

Post by Bella »

2012 | ‘Conscious Living’ is a Con Science


Conscious Living has many faces, but it has one common denominator: to make the life of the individual more ‘valuable’.
If we look at the ‘expressions’ of ‘conscious living’ around the globe, we find for instance trends like ‘going green’, shopping ‘bio’, going to that ‘fitness class’, going on a ‘diet’, cutting down on fats, quitting smoking, following a ‘spiritual path’, donating to a charity, etc.

All these are examples of how one can make one’s life more ‘valuable’...to oneself! That is, how one can ‘feel better’ about oneself, feel like one is ‘doing the right thing’ or even helping those in need etc. Then, one can continue basically living the same life with a ‘clear conscience’.

Where am I getting at?
I am looking at the fact that no path of ‘conscious living’ as promulgated in this world ever actually looks at the whole, ever looks at the individual within the context of the entire existence, this world, and at the role each one plays (consciously or unconsciously) within it all.



What can be seen is that ‘conscious living’ is only actually making a difference on the consciousness of the person choosing to follow a certain trend / walk a certain path or taking certain decisions to improve one’s life quality. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, but let’s not delude ourselves believing we live in awareness by following/applying concepts of ‘conscious living’, because any such concepts in this world are in fact merely another form of consumerism in the broader spectrum of a system that creates needs based on the desires it has already created for you.

What can also be seen is that ‘consciousness’ as such only ever consider the personal interest of its ‘host’, and even in the case of charity:
one does not seem to realize that supporting ‘charity’ is actually equal to supporting the system and the world as we know it; that one is actually merely creating/supporting a ‘justification’ for the current system, through thoughts like “well what can one person do, at least I give to charity” – not realizing that for charity to exist, inequality and suffering must exist.

So ‘conscious living’ is in fact a bragging self-consciousness, within and as which one is not really considering the implications and consequences of one’s decisions for the world as a whole.
The term ‘expanding our consciousness’ also exists only in the context of self-consciousness without regard for the outflows of one’s existence in the context of life.




Conscious living should actually mean that one is conscious of cause and effect of one’s practical living for the entirety of existence.

But ‘conscious living’ in this world has been a concept which, just like any other, has been used by the capitalist system to create new definitions of self-image, desires to be pursued, niches of ‘specialness’ for people to seek happiness in. And so the whole concept of ‘conscious living’ has but perpetuated a phenomenon that is becoming more and more obvious in the modern society: the religion of self.
Self-Religion:
a core belief-system one creates, be it through a copy paste process using several already existing belief-systems and/or religions/spirituality, or through a patch-work fuzzy-logic approach, wherein one firstly determines what it is one is wishing to ‘prove’ i.e. ‘justify’, and then works out the ‘logic’ that makes it seem plausible.

Does that ring a bell? Yes – this is the con science we all function through, based on the ‘education’ we receive within the system.
Even our major and well-established religions tend to work this way. And if we look closer and listen carefully, we will see that even the most dogmatic and strict of religious followers have in fact their own interpretation of their religion, tailored to fit the personal ‘demands’ of the follower’s mind and to ‘justify’ or explain or validate why one exists the way one does and why the world is as we know it.

The modern version of self-religion, which many will call ‘conscious living’, works in the same way:
it serves the validation of the follower’s mind, and is thus a tool of and for self-righteousness, a tool that does not place the individual in the context of reality as a whole, as this world we all share, but instead considers only the individual’s mental bubble of reality as self-interest, which is basically an already preordained, preprogrammed ‘picture’ or ‘symbol’ ABOUT reality, an interpretation created through a lifetime of ‘education’ i.e. brainwashing through the fears, desires and beliefs each one was ‘raised’ with, through schools, culture, society, peers, religions – the entirety of the world’s systems.

Within this, one is in no way able to take into consideration or even at all investigate the consequences / outflows / effects of one’s existence on the Whole.




What is forming consciousness about the different ways of ‘conscious living’? Is it not the capitalist corporations promoting their products and services through media, movies, ads? In a system where money as profit determines and dictates the direction and even the results of scientific research as well as the selective publication of ‘knowledge’: what is promulgated as ‘conscious living’ can only be but another part of the system, created to satisfy the trigger-happy consciousness of the human psyche.

How effectively ecological can any agricultural products really be in an environment where for instance genetically manipulated crops are utilized? Does the seed that travels with the wind know barriers? Is there really anything that is untouched by the corporate manipulated genes of profit and greed?
Organic products have also reached the point of mass production, but are offered at a higher price for bigger wallets. So we are basically accepting that only those with money are able to pursue a lifestyle of ‘conscious living’, since the rest of the world cannot afford it, and some are even left to survive on what the money-holders throw away.
We cannot delude ourselves into thinking we are 'going green' or 'doing the right thing' unless we take on the entire system that allows for consumerism, abuse and exploitation and the whole con of the current money-system.

Or take for instance the point of recycling: While people are motivated to recycle as this being the ‘right thing’ to do, and while money and time and energy is invested in recycling, in fact more energy is used/wasted than gained in the process, and in many cases most waste ends up being mixed up again, which makes the whole process of waste organisation superfluous. So here again the point seems to be to trick the consumer consciousness into thinking and believing one is ‘doing the right thing’ or even contributing to a ‘better world’, while in fact all currently existent lifestyle options are part of the system, created by the system in way that ensures the recreation of the system.



So what can we do for and as actual conscious living?

First of all we have to get to self-honesty about what it is we are participating in and why; become aware of the ‘hidden motives’ behind one’s consumption patterns for instance. What do we buy? Why? How are the products we buy being created? Investigate their creation process from beginning to end. Who profits? How is the product or service selling and why? What are we actually buying into? And what drives us to the desire for a product, a lifestyle or a service? What are we compensating for? Does a product/service and our participation in it change anything within the bigger picture? And what would it take to make an actual difference in the world system as such?

Investigate the equal money system and its base principle: Equality and Oneness as Life.
Explore the practical common sense research, considerations and suggestions discussed on the equal money forum and start debunking the current system through questioning your own motives, fears and desires from the perspective of how one’s own existence and participation contributes to this world as we know it.

What would it take to create an entirely new system that actually nurtures life, instead of feeding off of life like the current socio-economic system of consumerism, consumption and con science?
What will it take for us to stop placing profit before life, to stop exploiting life out of fear of scarcity, to stop thinking only in selfish terms trapped in a self-consciousness of greed and degradation, and start factually expanding our awareness to encompass all life including planet Earth and all our fellow Earthlings!?

Why are we accepting the belief that there is no other way? Why do we keep blaming the ‘big brothers’ when on the other hand we embrace the ‘treats’ we are being offered, hoping that the next ‘top thing’ will finally bring us the health, wealth, stealth we desire to become so that we may become ‘bigger’, ‘better’, ‘more desirable’!?

Isn’t it time we stop making objects out of ourselves, stop selling ourselves to the systems, stop buying into bright shiny things, stop being driven like happiness machines!
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barbara
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Joined: 12 Jun 2011, 21:52

Re: 2012 | ‘Conscious Living’ is a Con Science

Post by barbara »

Bella wrote:First of all we have to get to self-honesty about what it is we are participating in and why; become aware of the ‘hidden motives’ behind one’s consumption patterns for instance. What do we buy? Why? How are the products we buy being created? Investigate their creation process from beginning to end. Who profits? How is the product or service selling and why? What are we actually buying into? And what drives us to the desire for a product, a lifestyle or a service? What are we compensating for? Does a product/service and our participation in it change anything within the bigger picture? And what would it take to make an actual difference in the world system as such?
Yes, this is a primary point one has to investigate within oneself first: what are my 'hidden motives' behind my participation? - The desteni-I-process has been tremendous support for me to actually see why I haven't been stopping certain, specific patterns, what I used as justification and reasoning to remain within only seeming self-change, moving in circles, waiting for something to change on the outside and never fully grasping that all-is-here as-me and I am able to change this primary point of 'my-motive' to a starting point that considers all of life - that is eventually based on an actual comprehension of what I am allowing and accepting AS MYSELF in this world and stopping myself by slowing myself down, seeing the motives, breathing, forgiving myself and correcting my starting point as/within myself & then redirecting myself within my application as/within life, instead of 'doing the right thing' and leaving it at that and thus oneself in a state of self-victimization!

Great post, Bella!
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