Befriending Money

[dawei]

Warning to men: Never tell a woman you have lots of money. Won't be long you won't have any money.

 

Now I understand why the woman bashing thread started

[Tennoryou]

I've been thinking about this thread for the past few days now since I first saw it. I only read the first couple of posts (there's just too much intense information on this forum, aaaah. it'll take me a while to get used to ), but it's a very interesting idea indeed.

Living in such an anti-capitalist hot spot like Berlin and being an extremely staunch hater of capitalism myself I find it hard to imagine I could find a way to befriend money in a way that didn't compromise my beliefs. But, damn I've been trying to, haha. Being poor sucks sometimes. Feel like I'm stuck near the ending of SLC Punk, or something.

Edited August 25, 2014 by Tennoryou

[BaguaKicksAss]

Working for yourself?

 

Working for a non-profit which helps folks?

 

Sell at farmers markets only?

 

Just some ideas .

[Songtsan]

True non-attachment does not mean disregard or fear of having possessions, which would represent aversion (negative attachment) - simply an attitude of being non attached to the possessions one owns, so that if they are lost or broken, one does not create suffering. Furthermore, if one has no money, and is lacking something one thinks one needs, one should still not stress, but seek to remedy the situation in a comfortable, unattached manner.

 

Stressing over money, or lack thereof, is a major cause of insecurity - which leads to loss of balance.

 

I usually have less than $10 in my wallet at most times, and I am over $110,000 in debt. I work scattered hours when I can find under the table work. I am very dependent on help from friends at this time.

 

When I compare myself to others with money - using relativistic 'I should try to keep up with these guys - I feel inferior because they are more independent than I am' thoughts, I create stress in myself.

 

I don't try to say, 'fuck it - I don't care that I am this way' and relax, I simply adopt a relaxed non-attached attitude, while still pursuing financial gain in a calm, collected way, as if it was my duty - and holding the intention to be useful to my friends. I even offer to work for free sometimes, as Karma yoga.

 

I think however that I do hold some of that attitude that it is unhealthy to own lots of possessions, and that attachment to money causes grief.

 

Plus I visualize myself one day being a homeless vagabond - of a wandering sadhu type.

 

I think that I have some deep down issues which prevent money from flowing to me except in trickles.

 

There is another part of me that would love to have that security that comes with money.

 

I often adopt a view-state in which I choose to believe that I just won the lottery, and that I simply haven't picked up my check from the state lottery office. I notice when I adopt this view-stance, that I immediately feel a sense of deep contentment, as if I have time to take a breather.

 

So in this way, I know that, regardless of my 'spiritual' attitude towards money, deep down I am still hooked on it.

 

Such an interesting quandary.

[Tennoryou]

Just an idea...if the majority of the planet, or say even half un-friended money, just think...

[Songtsan]

there is also this idea: ignore money, and do everything on trade basis - trade skill for skill, item for item....some people operate from this stance...there is this guy on youtube who does this...I will try to find out his name...he absolutely refuses to use or accept money, and yet thrives...

 

I like to think of the money thing as a game...like World of Warcraft or something..

 

ultimately, I trust that the universe will provide me the basics, it just so happens that my ego does not trust this...when I say ultimately, I mean that more awesome part of myself which I have yet to directly contact, but can feel underneath, watching everything as if it's a divine play.

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

now you both have given me an idea to make a "Money" facebook page! just so i can friend and then unfriend it.

[Songtsan]

There is this guy: http://www.details.com/culture-trends/career-and-money/200907/meet-the-man-who-lives-on-zero-dollars

 

then this guy: http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2010/04/12/2870334.htm

[GrandmasterP]

That second link guy wrote a book about his experiment.

It received mixed reviews...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/1851687874/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_2?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addTwoStar&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

[Songtsan]

That second link guy wrote a book about his experiment. It received mixed reviews... http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/1851687874/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_2?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addTwoStar&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

 

4.5 stars on Amazon....

 

In any event, I know that it's doable to do without money. Doing with money is simply more efficient. It's a well known, streamlined system, which can be gamed like anything else.

 

Those who carry an aversion to the system, like myself, simply are at a disadvantage.

 

I will tell you this: If I wasn't so averse to the money game, I would be thriving better than I am now. I know this for certain.

 

However, having began with the anti-materialist/anti-money view, if I was to suddenly come into money, I would at least respect its value, vs. taking it for granted.

[Marblehead]

I think you might want to consider working on that aversion of yours?

[Songtsan]

I think you might want to consider working on that aversion of yours?

 

in process!

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

i am not so much outright against money, but the systems in which money is manipulated to create poverty and inflate the few who are already in excess.

Nature suppliments the diminished and diminishes the excessive.
"The Money Game" suppliments teh excessive and diminishes the already diminished.

It's not money itself that is the problem, but the allowance of such systems that create poverty and enforce it.


In my perception, any system which pays a tax is suspect to being guilty, and must not be cooperated with.

So long as we are not in control of where the money we pay in taxes goes, we will always and forever have poverty.

GEE, i wonder why tribal life looks so much more appealing to me?!

[Marblehead]

"i am not so much outright against money, but the systems in which money is manipulated to create poverty and inflate the few who are already in excess."

 

I have to agree with you here. That is why it is important to learn how money works and how to best use it.

[thelerner]

 

GEE, i wonder why tribal life looks so much more appealing to me?!

I can't help thinking, it looks appealing because you don't do it. Tribes are so diverse, what/which tribe would you, could you join? and is it a real tribe or an idealized one?

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

anything closer to nature than mechanical dependency is ideal. Cannibal tribes are more appealing than military industrial complex political agendas.

[Marblehead]

Borneo still has some cannibalistic tribes. When asked if they still practice cannibalism they say :No" with a big smile on their face.

[thelerner]

anything closer to nature than mechanical dependency is ideal. Cannibal tribes are more appealing than military industrial complex political agendas.

Beware, politics are everywhere and groups without any kind of 'military' tend not to last long. Even if the military takes the form of lawyers and P.R to fight on the legal front.

 

Still, as far as picking a tribe, do you mean 'any' of them, or 'none' of them?

[GrandmasterP]

There's a series on TV here right now ' Worst Place to be a Pilot' young lads flying supplies out to head hunter villages and such over in Indonesia and bringing any sick tribespeople out to hospital.

Hell of a job.

One grass airstrip near the top of a mountain in almost permanent cloud cover.

Apparently they don't go in for cannibalism these days but some of the older villagers did.

Edited August 27, 2014 by GrandmasterP

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

Beware, politics are everywhere and groups without any kind of 'military' tend not to last long. Even if the military takes the form of lawyers and P.R to fight on the legal front.

 

Still, as far as picking a tribe, do you mean 'any' of them, or 'none' of them?

 

'any' is better than 'none'. :\

[Silent Answers]

Money has always plagued me. As a kid I would be telling my parents how I wanted to escape, live in some remote place, where I could forage for my own survival in a natural environment. That was before I had any real understanding of money and how it runs the world. So growing up, I began to despise money in my early teens as an obstacle stopping me from achieving my goals.

 

Now, I'm older and wiser...I still struggle with the concept of money...torn between a longing for the ideal life without it...and the reality of needing it to get/do anything. There are times I deprive myself of the things we take for granted...just to get a taste of what "raw life" would be like; in the end I'm always grateful for the achievements money has pieced together. It sure does inspire people.

 

My problem is that I just want an easy life. To be able to spend my days just taking in my surroundings...appreciating the beauty of creation. Instead, I feel like a machine - stuck working late hours, unable to spend much time with my son and hardly anytime to think for myself.

 

This way of thinking is pretty common, I guess.

Edited August 28, 2014 by Silent Answers

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

the mechanical demand of humanity is unforgivable, in my honest most opinion, and only a byproduct of powerlust, conquest, violent dominion, and greed. but i am not sentimental with the victims: I BLAME THE VICTIMS FOR ALLOWING IT!

Just as much as i blame the perpetuators for initiating it.

[GrandmasterP]

Money has always plagued me. As a kid I would be telling my parents how I wanted to escape, live in some remote place, where I could forage for my own survival in a natural environment. That was before I had any real understanding of money and how it runs the world. So growing up, I began to despise money in my early teens as an obstacle stopping me from achieving my goals.

 

Now, I'm older and wiser...I still struggle with the concept of money...torn between a longing for the ideal life without it...and the reality of needing it to get/do anything. There are times I deprive myself of the things we take for granted...just to get a taste of what "raw life" would be like; in the end I'm always grateful for the achievements money has pieced together. It sure does inspire people.

 

My problem is that I just want an easy life. To be able to spend my days just taking in my surroundings...appreciating the beauty of creation. Instead, I feel like a machine - stuck working late hours, unable to spend much time with my son and hardly anytime to think for myself.

This way of thinking is pretty common, I guess.

 

Ideally, to live that way in comfort then you'd need lots of money.

But I'm sure we all remember a story about that...

Just the punchline...

"But" the old fisherman protested to the yuppie; " I can already go fishing whenever I choose to."