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CHAPTER   3

WAKE UP, GET DRESSED &
MOVE OUT

The search for Truth and meaning that occasionally marked the philosophies of the ancient world, appears to be in a state of serious decline in the present day.  In our institutions of psychology and philosophy, there is little emphasis placed upon independent thought, a quality that is so necessary for researching and recognizing what is true.  There is only the simplistic categorization of personality types, post-Freudian analysis, prescription medications for nervous disorders and the growing conviction that the mind is primarily a reflection of genetic variables, rather than a self generating phenomena. All of these trends seem to do their utmost to avoid the fact, that it is we who are responsible for our own beliefs and mental states.

For the most part the public is no longer motivated to dedicate itself to a social focus of meaningful living.  Meaning and Truth we are told, are relative to each individual person.  The facts of life are supposedly a matter of personal interpretation.  With this view in place we study all subjects from God to gossip as though they are intrinsically equal.  Society cannot seem to clearly define what is of importance to the general welfare, because our priorities are bundled haphazardly into one chaotic ball like old fishing line. Education is of no help in unraveling this ball of chaos, because it views knowledge itself as enlightenment, which is as logical as saying that a large pile of bricks is a house.  Having knowledge without wisdom is similar to possessing a wide variety of quality tools, and yet being unable to effectively plan how to use them.  Learning facts without any concept of relevance, is like hoping a pile of bricks without order will somehow organize itself into something useful.  Each brick may be compared to a piece of knowledge and the pile of bricks, a modern diploma or degree.  The bricks are only potentially useful, and that potential depends entirely upon how they are used. In other words, they are useful only when they are applied cooperatively, according to a logical plan.  The deepest knowledge found in nature is still not well understood by the scientific community, because our studies are oriented around phenomena rather than underlying cause.  In other words, we still do not understand the plan of evolution found underlying natural processes.  The ongoing evolution of life in nature is not the subject of mainstream scientific study, because our researchers are not, for the most part, involved in their own personal evolution. Therefore the importance of such studies are simply not perceived.

Humanity is too busy engaging the complexities of technology rather than improving the human condition.  Regardless of the vast quantity of knowledge we possess, the quality, direction and application of the sciences is still lacking.  Bits of formally studied knowledge are essentially no different, remaining relatively worthless until wisdom is applied to them. Our scholars and school children possess a wide range of informational bits, with some mathematics here, sociology there, earth science, foreign languages, music, literature, etc. Yet with all this information at our fingertips, we are still truly at a loss, as a culture and as individuals, in deciding what to do next to solve tomorrow’s social crisis.  It will surely be there when we wake up tomorrow, just as it was today and yesterday.  Without a strong sense of priority or even a clear definition of truth, we stumble on in an uncoordinated fashion without ever truly addressing the real problems of the world.  Knowledge alone is not enough.  So-called "higher education" is not enough.  Only a complete restructuring of social values, or in other words, social focus, will be sufficient to save the majority of humanity from its own misconceptions.

We can all see the results of modern destructiveness, yet this simple knowledge is usually not enough to cause a person to fundamentally change.  Could it be that we feel we can afford to ignore the condition of our lives, or even the decay of our own bodies and minds?  This is no doubt at least partially true. But even more importantly it could be said that like electricity, we tend to take the path of least resistance.  In the social context, taking the path of least resistance means two basic things.  The first of these is that:

1. We stay within our threshold of comfort.  The human being is already so stressed and overloaded by all the considerations of the modern world, that we feel we cannot take on even one more thing. Our own bodies and minds, let alone the state of the world, are secondary considerations when it comes to making money.  This is a predictable reaction to artificiality and unwise social policy.  In essence we lack the vital energy to act in ways which are radically different from the normal routine, because it drains us totally of every particle of positivity and vitality.
   

2.  We feel an extraordinary sense of pressure from our peers to “perform” according to expected standards.  These standards are based upon what this materialistic life is supposed to be.  We are told by the media and those in our immediate environment, that the most important thing in life is to “fit in” and be a “worthy member of society.”  This of course implies competitiveness rather than cooperation, and bank accounts rather than being spiritually accountable.

Children are taught that image is more important than sincerity from an early age, through the example set by adults.  We are expected to “put up a good show” regardless of what is going on inside, even when there is the unmistakable intuition that the normal belief system is dead wrong.  We say on the one hand that a book cannot be judged by its color, and yet we judge others primarily by their appearance, as in, “the clothes make the man”, (or woman).  When we ask others, “What do you do?”, (meaning what form of employment do you have) the real question being asked is “What is your social position and value in the eyes of society?” as a determination of how our opinion of them will be formed. Attitudes such as these stem from the belief that life and the meaning it holds, are hollow, that there is no lasting Truth nor real purpose for human existence, other than those defined by a suicidal society.  We feel hollowness in our own lives, and the only thing that seems to counteract this depressing state of affairs, is to try to convince others that we are not hollow inside.  By convincing them of our worth through a gaudy show of material possessions, we can supposedly boost our own flagging self image, even though we know the entire exercise in futility is a lie.  This is the whole reasoning behind, “keeping up with the Jones’s”.

It is clear that in order to change effectively, (for it to become a daily reality) we need more than false images or simple knowledge. We need the willingness to suffer the sometimes uncomfortable state of transition from one mode of living to the next, so that a better way of life might be attained.  But even more critical is the willingness to challenge the assumptions of society in full, and to care so much for the truth that peer pressure becomes a trivial thing.  Inner strength is not defined by ones’ ability to take orders without question, to make false appearances or to cater to public opinion.  On the contrary, inner strength is best defined as the ability to follow through with ones’ own best judgment and aspirations, even when there is not even a single other person who shares the same vision. 

The example of history shows that the majority of people do not display the inner strength necessary for independent and enlightened action.  We must be careful not to assume that this lack of initiative on the part of humanity, demonstrates its inability to live a natural and spiritual life.  The innate capacity of the human is genius.  Public action is therefore most restricted not by its ability, but by its willingness to act.  It is easy to assume that we can afford the time to put off change for another day, even when convinced of its urgent necessity.  In all honesty we no longer have the time as a species upon this living planet to be wasteful, artificial or careless.  The products of carelessness and greed have finally caught up with us.  For the individual person this is particularly so, because we must employ both intelligence and wisdom, in order to maintain a sane, worthwhile life in this insane age.  Each individual must deal with the consequences of what may be called the “world karma” or the “misdeeds of past generations” by living well regardless of pollution, crime rates and corrupt governments.  At the same time they must conduct their personal lives in such a way as to maintain good clarity of mind, progressiveness, positivity and naturalness.  This is not a part-time task or a hobby to be toyed with.  It is a necessary life focus that makes the most out of physical, mental and spiritual potentials, regardless of a society that cares little for its health, sanity or right action.  To the truly natural and spiritual person it may be said that all praise is due.  Maintaining a natural focus in life rather than a material one however, is the least we can do for ourselves and for this planet as a consequence.

Even if one were inclined to adopt the ideas contained in this book blindly and without question, they would be of little value.  In order to take action with strength and wisdom we must see for ourselves, in our own fashion, the nature of the facts at hand.  To live out the Truth is a matter of personal realization.  It is necessary therefore, for the reader to see very clearly as a matter of personal experience, the validity of the facts and principles contained herein.  This entails a process of checking and double-checking the seemingly preposterous conclusion that our entire civilization is built on the lies of money and social position, (”power”).  It is necessary to come to grips with this conclusion and its implications, through an honest evaluation of worldly affairs.  It is necessary to perceive with unwavering clarity that the things we are expected to strive for, represent a destructive value system that is devastating all life on this world, and us in the process.  The reader is therefore strongly urged to question everything they encounter for its accuracy and true usefulness, including the ideas herein.  The authors are absolutely convinced that those ideas are universal, and are fully capable of standing on their own by virtue of their consistent merit.

After a person endures the process of de-conditioning themselves of the absurd, urgently repeated suggestions of the media, they may then create a new, better life for themselves.  The full potential of mental health may not be enjoyed until the disease of consumerism is cured. After having braved the discomfort of sweeping change, and daring to think for ourselves regardless of the neighbors, a higher stage of personal unfoldment occurs for the progressive person.  This process is not for everyone even though everyone would benefit from it, simply because not everyone is willing to live the truth regardless of all else.  Most people do not realize that they have been cheated of a full, satisfying life by not following the truth, until or near the time of their death.  It is then that the material realm is failing them utterly, when possessions lose their luster and the body its coordination.  At this point material things can no longer provide a shelter for further indulgence.  It is then that people cry out to God or to cruel fate asking, “Why?”, “Why must life end this way, and why can’t I continue to cling to all the ‘things’ I have known?”  It is unfortunate that many people wait until they are nearly dead to take such questions seriously.  Once we see the light of Truth we are then saved from unnecessary misery.  Those who refuse to acknowledge that light must be allowed to see it for themselves.  All souls will in their own time and fashion progress.  More important than what we want others to see, are the actions we continue to take.  It is wise to simply let the natural lifestyle speak for itself until interest from others is demonstrated.  

The first step on the pilgrimage to the simple, the efficient and the practical involves the mind alone.  This is a matter of inner decision, which may have to be made repeatedly.  The decisions we make to enter a natural, sane life will probably involve a few slips backward along the way.  Each slip back into consumerism and wastefulness will require a reaffirmation of what is important in life, and this process will at times seem to be trial.  Regardless of this, the intelligent person will either gradually or immediately extract themselves from that which is poisonous.  To detach from decay may involve a process of many steps, yet it must be done.

In adopting a natural life we replace the debtor mentality with a more logical stance.  The sane view is to evaluate what it is we really need, before even considering a purchase of any kind.  Amazingly, it is common practice to buy a house, property, vehicle or some other item of great price, and then actually spend the majority of ones’ life trying to pay it off.  It is not unusual to “get a loan” for the next several years in order to “afford” that new house, boat, car or property.  In assuming debt on a 20-30 year loan, we are declaring that the next 2 to 3 decades are going to be dedicated to ceaseless wage slavery, whose fruits shall not even be our own.  To get a loan is to borrow against your own future, which in most cases serves to stress out and destroy ones’ present-day livelihood.  As a culture we are constantly buying things we cannot presently pay for, which is the whole concept behind credit.  So long as we are in debt we do not truly own anything. When payments aren’t made the property reverts to the true owner, which is usually the bank, and by the time they are paid off their condition, like the health of our own bodies, has diminished to a fraction of their original value.

How wise is it to buy things we really don’t need to live well, and then be forced to spend years and years paying it off?  How intelligent is it to pay double, triple or quadruple the market price of an item because of the so-called “interest.”  By the time most people finally do pay the interest and purchase price of goods in full, time and use have reduced their market worth by 20-75%, (as in the case of most houses, automobiles, boats, stereos, etc.).  How willing we are to hand over a suitcase full of money earned through various labors, only to find that the newest, shiniest, or most “impressive” thing really doesn’t satisfy after all.  This willingness is the direct result of the mass-hypnosis induced by a world of advertising, whose prey is the capture of your battered mind.

The philosophy behind the world marketplace reflects our social value system.  The pricing of goods is not done according to their actual, practical value or cost of production, but according to what people are gullible enough to fall for.  This type of thinking is known as selling according to “what the market will bear.”  Even though it makes no sense, the public will spend hundreds of dollars on such things as simple plastic toys, clothes, and devices that have a few flashy attributes, simply because everyone else is buying them.  Where have our values regarding what is truly important in life gone?  They’ve been reduced to the level of senseless advertising slogans, incredibly shallow, egotistical imagery and an imbalanced craving for anything that displays a few gimmicks, no matter how ridiculous.  We must seriously ask ourselves if such a state of being represents affluent living, or the final self-destruction of decadence.  As a people we need to remember out roots and regain the sense of natural dignity found everywhere in nature. 

To emancipate ourselves from compulsive cravings and imagined needs, it is necessary to reject consumerism, indebtedness and wage slavery as the everyday norm.  We cannot survive as a species without doing so.  The individual may accomplish this through an understanding of simplicity, efficiency, practicality and a realization of what is truly necessary to live well.  To live well we need not impress the neighbors, who are themselves trying to impress us at the same time, and in both cases for no particular reason other than this is what is expected.  We don’t need the 20-30 year loan, because we don’t need 5,000 square foot luxury palaces, equipped with every imaginable though unnecessary device.  We don’t need a new car regardless of the brand name, the image or the price tag associated with it.  We don’t need the boat, the satellite dish, the stereo system, the riding lawnmower, 30”color TV w/remote or the pool, just as our great-grandparents did not.  The sheer extravagance and waste of these items, and the scope of destruction rendered upon the earth to create them, represents the degeneration of the noble human into an appalling nightmare.  Let as recognize with humility that our primary desire for such trinkets is not personal enlightenment, wisdom, expanded health, intelligence or spiritual practice.  The motivation for these things is primarily that of ego, and the bizarre notion that owning expensive things implies being a better person. In the final analysis the clothes do not make the man….only right action can do that.

Having recognized the falsehood of social ideals, it behooves the intelligent revolutionary to start the process of building a new life this very day.  The reader is advised to take the following action;

1. Get out and stay out of debt.  
   

2. Don’t buy what you don’t need to live well.  
   

3. Get rid of all items in your life which do not contribute to simplicity and well being.  
   

4. Cultivate self-understanding, spiritual wisdom and knowledge of natural laws.  
   

5. Reject utterly the images and motives of society.  
   

6. Quit work whenever possible, and in the future, work only when it is necessary to maintain ones’ health and well being through an efficient minimum of material needs.  
   

7. Value material items only for their inherent practicality, (and no other consideration).  Buy used goods which still retain their practical attributes, but whose costs are only a small fraction of their new counterparts.  
   

8. Don’t make the mistake of identifying yourself with something so small and trivial as an occupation. As a soul, as an inherently intelligent, potentially wise and spiritual being, we are far more than the contents of a resume.  We are not a job description.  Identify with your soul instead, and with the spiritual progression that is our purpose for existence.  In this way you will be able to value right living more than a “career,” or so-called “job security.”  There is no security to be found in death by slow torture, (the 20-40 year retirement plan).

Remember that money is only a representative form of energy.  Energy can be either wasted or employed effectively.  In nature we find that energy is employed efficiently through the means of practicality and simplicity.  In simplicity, irrelevant, redundant and unnecessary features are done away with, a fact which biological systems reflect.  Living beings are practical in the sense that they are compelled by nature to do what works to survive.  Because it is practical and simple, nature avoids wastefulness, thereby making the maximum use of its resources.  Wastefulness is the needless loss of energy.  If biological systems had always been as wasteful as modern humanity, there would be no life on this planet today.  It is our task to transform the waste of modern living into the efficiency of a natural lifestyle.

To accomplish natural living we must be clear about what is efficient and what is not.  As we eliminate waste, we conserve and even increase our available energy in a variety of ways, as in “a penny saved is a penny earned.”  This means also that we may achieve a state of maximum independence of mind, body and spirit.  The more we waste, the more we become dependent upon the devices and institutions of our age.  The material in Chapter 4 will examine very specific suggestions regarding how best to achieve this independence, primarily through living in your own vehicle.  The advantages of this will be discussed at that time.  Besides the primary consideration of “vehicle living”,  consider the following specific suggestions which identify what is both practical and impractical.  The following list compares what is essentially undesirable with those items that actually improve the quality of living:

In the process of ridding your life of unnecessary elements, one must also seek out a greater simplicity of relationship(s) to their immediate environment.  In everything that we do or focus upon, we invest a significant amount of energy.  For the most part our energy supply is limited, and therefore we must choose wisely regarding the manner in which it is spent.  As we eliminate unnecessary material objects, we can also avoid unnecessary involvements and activities that do not generally contribute to better living.  It is the wise who will avoid relationships based primarily upon gossip, the exchange of worldly trivia or light discussion for the sake of distraction from ones’ problems.  The intelligent person does not wish to be distracted from their problems. They wish to clearly perceive them, engage a workable solution and move on.  When it is based on trivia and nonsense, discussion becomes like alcohol, as a place of hiding or escape.  In this way useless talk is just as damaging as the drunken stupor, for it yields nothing and drains away valuable life energy.  Our lives are worth too much to indulge in the continuous blabbering of nonsense.

As we perceive more about the truth of the self and the Universe in general, interest in the trivial as an escape mechanism automatically drops away.  It is then that the involvement of ones’ self with idle and irrelevant discussion can actually be a painful experience.  The truth is too vast, too beautiful and invaluable for life to be focused on anything other than its exploration.  The world condition could be radically changed for the better, simply by redirecting in a constructive way, (for a period of one week only) all the energy spent in meaningless talk. 

As for our activities, it may be said that the waste of energy in this area is equally great.  There seems to be a fascination with the spending of time as though it was so much spare change weighting down the pockets.  Apparently we are looking for a way, any way at all in fact, to avoid the silence between activities, so that a genuine reconsideration of life’s meaning does not take place.  Our eagerness for the trivial is a tragic symptom of the failure of humanity to prioritize its time and mental state.  To avoid any clarity about the falsehood of modern views, we need constant stimulation, entertainment and endless work, so that these might replace the pain of realism.  The knitting club, the gossip circle, endless telephone conversations, hobbies and crafts, Saturday night bingo, sports talk and spectatorship, 20 soap opera channels, 50 sports channels, 75 sit-com and mindless drama channels, social posturing and manipulation, art critique of critiques and a nameless hoard of other ills, are in most cases the symptoms of mass mental disorder.  In all but the rarest of cases, the above activities are used as little hide-aways wherein one may pretend that insanity and chaos do not exist.

Thus it is necessary to choose only those activities and relationships which offer lasting practical benefit.  Selectivity in our relations is needed for exactly the same reason that unnecessary material attachments must be eliminated.  The amount of energy that will be freed up in our lives by getting rid of the trivial and superfluous is enormous.  The time available for inner reflection and transformation will be equally increased. As an increase of time and energy is made a reality, we may then make significant gains in our physical, mental and spiritual well being.

The day will come when you will wake up at the usual time to get dressed, not in work attire, but in the casual comfort of practicality.  You will have quit your “job” because you have better things to do with your time.  There will no longer be a need for a lot of money to buy useless items on behalf of egotistical purposes.  You will be relaxed and have a clear mind, filled with the relief of having been released from the so-called “daily grind.”  When all your energy is not being “ground up” by consumerism, you can them begin a new and exciting journey.  Call this early retirement if you wish, or some other name that amuses you.  After you are dressed in the clothes that happen to suit the occasion, you can start the process of “moving out” into a better life.  Sell and otherwise get rid of all those pointless devises and encumbering “things” in order to consolidate your resources.  Don’t bother about future rent payments because you won’t be making any.  Don’t concern yourself with mortgages, the car loan or “bad credit history” because you won’t be needing the new house, the fancy car or the instant loan plastic chip.  Tell the neighbors that you’re going on a long road trip, (you can use that term “extended vacation” if you want).  Cancel your credit cards, cash out your checking and savings accounts, give final notice for the apartment and sell the house.  Box up what you think you’ll need with a sense of ruthless detachment and minimalism.  The preceding lists and general suggestions will help in this regard.

Begin looking now for a used vehicle, preferably a van, (as explained in Chapter 4) that is both within your means and sufficiently practical.  A boat, towed trailer or RV can make an effective substitute for this.  As a minimum you must at least have sufficient monetary resources to purchase such a vehicle that is in good condition, or to repair one which is not.  Mentally prepare yourself to live in a mobile fashion, carrying with you most if not all of you worldly possessions, leaving behind the stagnant, slow decay of an eternally predictable routine.

It is very useful to cultivate a point of view, (as has been alluded to in previous pages) that resembles the focus of our great-grandparents.  The period of the late 1800s and early 1900s’ contained the last decades of a pre-technological age.  At this time there were still large numbers of people who knew how to live close to nature, and who did not feel the need for every kind of artificial stimulation and “convenience.”  It would seem that with the invention of every new contrivance, every technological gimmick, there is instantly felt in the publics’ mind an unquenchable thirst for that device.  Instead of Pavlov’s dogs we have Pavlov’s consumers, because as soon as the commercial ends we start salivating.  One might imagine that this represents the publics’ discovery of needs that it never before had knowledge of.  The truth of the matter is that there is only one need, one central root from which all other imagined needs spring forth.  This one true need is for humanity to return to its own foundation in natural and spiritual living.  That natural foundation is composed of love, clarity, accurate intuitiveness, intelligence and wisdom. This is the only stable basis upon which we can build anything with lasting value.  All else has been, and will continue to be, a threat to our very survival as a species.  So when considering the adoption of a natural life, one of simplicity, efficiency and practicality, do not be deceived by thoughts that you will not be able to live without all the amenities of today’s world.  Our ancestors did not need them to live well and neither do we.

A natural life is the saving grace of the modern age.  The idea that a life surrounded by more and more “things” is a better life, is an outright lie.  You will be truly amazed at what you can live without, to the point where you can’t imagine why people ever started to desire such things to start with.  It is a demonstrable fact that the primary cause behind all global devastation, warfare, social discord, political dishonesty and disease is the artificial set of values held by the modern age.  The fact that we feel a great need for plastic and cancer causing devices is what stimulates their continued production.  Continued production drives the destructive machine we call consumerism, giving advertising more energy to stimulate even more distorted desires.  Many people speak of “saving the environment” donating money to groups such as the Sierra Club or Audubon, calling that “doing their part.”  Ironically, these same people usually live in large, well-furnished homes whose total cost in energy and resources to both build and maintain, is equivalent to several thousand acres of stripped forest somewhere on this planet. Giving a donation or two to some environmental group while living in extravagant luxury, is like going to church on Sunday while spending every other day of the week upon the goals of greed and corruption.  Few people actually think about the consequences of their lifestyle, never fully realizing the sheer hypocrisy of their ways.

The feeding frenzy of this credit card world is like a great bonfire, whereupon the innocents of the world are pitched to provide amusement for the decadent.  Consumerism cannot last without being supported by devotee followers who are constantly willing to throw their lives away on its behalf.  When we do not participate in this feeding frenzy, we cause the global fire of consumption to burn more slowly, and in the process improve our own lives many fold.  A spiritual and natural life becomes in itself such a great reward, that its practitioners will never truly lack for anything.  Joy will fill your days, and the good deeds which spring from a natural life, will take root and bear fruit wherever you go.

Matthew Webb visionquest@eoni.com 

The World Mind Society http://www.eoni.com/~visionquest 

CHAPTER 4