How can we free ourselves from dependency of the fake value of money?

Here at the right side of this answer field it says: "Use any personal experience or knowledge you might have." When I read all those answers then I must resume that this indeed is a good advice and so I will follow it:

I will tell the story of my life and how I came to the extreme attitude that I have now.

It is now about fifty years ago, when I still was a young man, that I had ask myself after observing people's behavior all around: What is behind the race for money? People seem to be hypnotized by it and believe that this is the most important in life. Should I follow all others and do the same? They even do things they don't like and the extreme is that they do things that hurt others. My answer was very clear and I said NO, that's not what I will do. But then I ask myself: Should I invest so much energy just in my physical survival needs? I thought about it and then there came a very clear voice and said: "Don't worry, you will have always enough and all what you need! - and as much as is good for you!" This voice, coming out of myself, was so strong and clear, that from this moment on I never worried about money or any thing I needed to survive or do what I wanted to do.

To tell about it would fill a book or two, here I only can tell about a few things as example: I started to study without money and then received a scholar ship. I found a nice room without needing to pay, I only had to take care of the automatic heating system and even got some food. In vacation I went to the south of France and was living in a cave at the cost. One day I met people there who invited me to come to Marseilles to stay with them, so once in a while I went there... So it went on. I had then a job for some time and then I opened my own business. Then I married and we opened a shop without having money. It was a success from the first moment on, but we had to buy stuff without money, even though we sold well I came into pressure to pay all the bills. But still I trusted being told that I always would have enough... So one day a lady came into the shop and said: "Nice shop you have, do you need money?" I said: "Well, some money would make it a bit easier." She said: "Well, how much do you need?" And she wrote a check with the amount I told her. After some years we went to Spain for vacation and we liked it very much. We found a ruin in a beautiful village that I bought. I rebuild the house in the original style and I enjoyed it very much. Then we lived in this house and a partner managed the shop in Germany. We liked living in Spain so much, that we didn't want to go back to Germany, so we sold the business to the partner and moved to Spain. Some years went by and one day I visited a friend on the Ibiza island. I was fascinated by the energy of an old finca on top of a hill and I bought it for a small down payment. A few months later I moved with all my animals to Ibiza and started to rebuild the 800 years old farmhouse. A new life started...

I have to jump the next thirty years, there is not enough space here to tell about it. Just the consequence is that I never worried about money, I did what I liked to do and what I wanted to do. So my message in short is that what is the most important is ones attitude and world view. I had trust that I would get what I needed and wanted and it worked now for more than fifty years. I stepped out of the concepts and life style established in this society and found things more essential to live for. I dropped many things people believe they can't live without it. For example I haven't been to a hairdresser for the last forty years. Wait, I went to one about ten years ago and you can watch what happened then:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Se9Ry3VNDU

Apart of that I also quit all kind of insurances and other things people believe they can't live without.

My trust and my attitude makes it that there is enough food and resources here for twenty people. - So much about survival and money.

What is more important is that my trust goes further: I am convinced that whatever shows up in my life is exactly the right thing that I can learn and grow. That attitude allows me to be positive and makes that I don't need to avoid or defend myself against happenings that seem to go against my interests and so would be felt as negative.

My story might tell you what you can do to free yourself from the dependency of money. I can also give you a practical advice that worked for me the last fifty years: Practise meditation every day! If you don't know how to do it then you can find advice at my page: http://falconblanco.com/release/

If you have difficulties with it or you have questions, then you can ask me.

BeiYin

PS: You don't need to make shut up this part of your personality that seems to sabotage your intention to live apart of the fake value of money. This is a game you are playing with yourself, just observe it without giving importance to it. It will vanish by itself, - meditation helps. You need to connect with your *essential being*, that doesn't depend on society and all those established concepts... Then you will experience *reality*.

Hi Rahmona!

There is no easy solution, but your question has merit and deserves deep thought. I believe what you are proposing could work in a like minded community. One problem that immediately arises is what happens when someone is no longer able to contribute in a meaningful way. How would the community deal with the sick and the elderly when they become burdens on the other members?

I think what you are trying to do is very cool. I’m a nurse and I have a handsome salary, but I’ve always felt like you can’t put a dollar value on a person’s well being. I don’t think it is fair that just because someone doesn’t have insurance they get second rate health care or no care at all. I LOVE what I do and if all of my other needs were met I would be a nurse simply for the joy of it. Really! :)

Unfortunately, the world we live in doesn’t work that way - - it even costs money to take a crap. Every inch of the planet “belongs” to someone. You can’t even sleep in a “public” place for free! Yes, I enjoy the things that money can buy: my big screen plasma TV, my iPhone, my new dishwasher, etc., and I can’t imagine life without these things. But, money extends individual ownership to things that shouldn’t have a price tag and therein lays the problem.

Thanks so much for posting your question! Sometimes I feel like I’m the only girl in the philosophy section, LOL! I so appreciate another woman who is a “thinker” like myself. We need to be more vocal and let the men know that we can do a lot more than just make babies, LOL! Women can be philosophers too!

Your question embodies several principles so I'm

going to respond to each one.

First. Seeking a vocation which provides satisfaction

and happiness is of paramount importance. I have

made this my primary motivation all of my life. It has

meant a life of struggle and strife sometimes

because those around me thought I was wrong. I

have not yet regretted a single moment of it. It was and

continues to be, to borrow a phrase, a labor of love.

When I am asked for advice about what a person should

do or be in order to be successful, I always say the

same thing. I say success is not the most important

aspect of a vocation. Do something you enjoy. If

you stop enjoying it then stop doing it. I have lived by

this axiom all of my adult life.

Money is not inherently evil. What a person chooses to

do for it may or may not have undesirable qualities.

I earn enough money to enjoy a simple life in which I

have simple needs. I don't strive for lots of it. If it

comes my way I put it to use as I see fit. The little

voice you hear that tells you maybe you should just

go along to get along tells me "now you understand

what has value and what does not. March to the beat

of a different drummer if that is your bent."

A person who "listens to money talk" has lost the

ability to exist just for the sheer joy of living. His body

continues to walk about the planet but his soul, his

spirit, they are rolling around in the vault at the Chase

Manhattan Bank. My thinking is that the real coin of

the realm in our world is our soul. What we accept

in return for it is our choice. I have no sympathy for the

human who values the material goods of our world

above his freedom of spirit and what it can provide for him.

And finally your banner question. The answer to the "can

it change" question. Until 1991 I would have said no.

Then, in that year, a most remarkable thing occurred.

A man named Mikhail Gorbachev stood up in the center

of the Soviet Union and announced that the form of

government that had been in place since the revolution

of 1917 was a failed experiment. Philosophically it was a

near perfect style of government that placed the needs

of all at an equal level. Practically it was a miserable

failure. The desire for power, money and influence which

seems such an integral part of the human psyche made

the implementation of such a form impossible. Gorbachev's

ability, as one man, to admit this astounded me. So now

when, in my mind, I say "it can't be done", I remember that

20 years ago a man took a position and the seemingly

impossible became a reality.

You did a superb job of saying what you had to say here

and I thank you for your desire to do so.

This was a really excellent question.

Well, we can't readily recall memories of what/who we are now when we're born into our next life. But with some digging around if we're conscious enough, we can recall things that have happened to us in our past lives. Also, think of beings like the Dali Lama or the Karmapa, they are reincarnated beings who are choosing to come back as humans to help us all attain enlightenment. Here is my theory (for what it's worth), when we reach enlightenment and understand our "true" nature, then we dissipate into pure energy and cease being bound by the rules of karma and therefore can do pretty much whatever we want, if such pure energy has a desire to be anything. Perhaps we too can choose to come back as a human to help those that are suffering. In any case, a very thought provoking question.

Amanda, you wrote: "...what you are proposing could work in a like minded community." You are right, it works. I have been living since four years now with 'like minded' people, although it needs quite some more than being 'like minded'. Here we don't deal at all with money. Indeed we do nothing for money. As you say it: We do what we like to do and it makes sense to us or it is just part of the daily needs of people, animals and plants around. I can't tell you now how it works to live without the need of money, but I can say that it works. We are not living on a deserted island and far away from society, but we could easily arrange to become self sufficient, but even then we want to keep the contact with people from outside. We have our own water source, making biodiesel and other things, but this is not the main focus why we live together. That we don't depend on money is the result of our attitude and our world view. We have all we need and not just to be able to survive, we have much more...

When I say that our world view is different from people around us in this dominating society, that means that we here in our little group are not caught into the limited view with beliefs and concepts that are part of the established thinking. This society has created a reality that is based on concepts and dreams. People are struggling and suffering because daily life is distinct and doesn't fit with the fake reality people are trying to live. Obviously nearly all are victims of manipulation, that make them believe that they need certain things to feel good and tomorrow they need something else to feel better. Money is obviously the genius trick to make people to slaves and zombies, easily been manipulated to do what a few super clever guys want.

Anyway, we don't follow these games and we are interested to do something more creative and joyful.

Sorry not being able to reveal an easy way to what I'm describing. It has to do with *growing* and *healing oneself* and that will happen when one is ready for it. Then there will arise questions and also the answers and you can be sure that money has absolutely nothing to do with it. Right?

Bomoon

Hi Rahmona, Amanda, Bomoon

here you have another philosopher. I'm very down to earth and not interested in cloudy dream worlds even if these are perfect in their intellectual concepts... There was a good question about the still primitive state of humanities evolution and indeed this is still in its beginning where men can impress with their strength and their survival tricks. We shouldn't have allowed that men took the reigns and manipulated the world, so that now we are living in a fake reality and have to fight and struggle to come back to our true nature of being. It might not be too late. But don't feel sorrow for these blown up power machos, they will fall by their own weight... In no way critic their favorite toy the money, let them run after it, like they all do and have been, just observe them and smile, but don't let them sense it, because they are extremely sensitive and can't take it if we don't admire them when they carry their blown up bellies and heads around demonstrating us their unreachable importance. Let's not depend on these monsters that does not help them to get out of their worn out roles. We must stay firm and sovereign with our energy, that will help them. (You might know the work of Cesar Millan, the dog whisperer, he works in this way with dogs and changes their bad behavior.) So what works with dogs, should work also with men... Let's try it, we have nothing to lose!

IsidoraDuck

Rahmona, you can't expect a creative, supportive answer from people who are totally stuck in their games established by this society. This is all they have and they get all their feeling of existence out of it. If you question this then you will provoke reactions that serves their survival, because they need to be confirmed in their position and not reduced. So people need to defend themselves by ignoring you, attacking you finding your week spots or using the opportunity to make their position stronger by expressing their thoughts and feelings, it doesn't really matter if these are logical or based on experience. Every thing serves to put you down.

But one never know: There might be a philosopher who stumbles upon your question and will give you a hint...

InkyPinkie

PS: I also would welcome some new aspects in this subject and not only having to read so many of these most extreme silly answers...

Edit: I remember some drawings of Wilhelm Busch I liked very much when I was about seven years old. In one of these cartoons he described how to catch monkeys: One empties a pumpkin and fills it with grain or something the monkey like. The hole is only that big that the hand of the monkey can get in. Then one puts the pumpkins under the tree where the monkeys are and goes away. The monkey come down, grab into the pumpkin and take a handful of the grain. Then one can come and grab the monkey who can't move because he can't get out his hand full of grain but doesn't want to let go of it.

So Rahmona, this might answer your question. How to free yourself? By being aware of the tricks there were used to catch you and then you might be able to let go...

The easiest way to overcome this is not to totally remove yourself or the money, but live in harmony with it. For example, do what you love to do, and money will fallow it. I'm a struggling musician trying desperately to form a band so I'm making no money right now. Like you I think money is evil. I only ever want just to live comfortably and play music. I don't believe in material excess at all. Maybe you're like me and you're fulfilled by things other than money and material, like impacting culture, helping/inspiring people, and/or over-all self-improvement.

Another alternative would be something like living on a deserted island, but I find your happiness means nothing unless you can share it.

Reduce your needs and control your wants. Take joy in being here. Between your birth and death, everything (good or bad) is a gift. The purpose of life is to experience it. The only thing you can take with you when you depart this world is wisdom. If you have your health and freedom while you're here, you are infinitely rich, whether you live like a king or a beggar. If you make money along the way without sacraficing your soul for it, then you have lived true to yourself. Money can be a useful tool, but if you "sell out" for the sake of money, you have essentially sold your soul to the devil (for lack of a better phrase). We create our own heaven or hell. Money has little to do with it.

Life is an energy machine that replicates.

Nature is the competition between these machines.

Money is symbolic energy. Its value is not 'fake' it is faith based.

See, it is not money that dominates us, it is energy.

We are energy machines.

We must eat & drink, clothe & shelter ourselves and this takes energy.

Which we must expend to acquire & acquire to expend. This manipulation of energy IS life.

In our society everything turns around money because money facilitates the exchange of energy. But money is not our jailor, it is our liberator.

Money cannot free us from the nature of life. We must work to eat. But money vastly expands the nature of what we can do for work.

Without money there is only one job - to find food. You are a hunter or a gatherer. Period.

With money, you may find all sorts of work, so long as someone is willing to trade you the symbolic energy of money for it.

You can say there is no trace of money in your heart - but this is meaningless. In your heart are your desires & desires take energy. So go back to the jungle if you like, I suspect what you will find is the reason we all left it. If you plan to stay with the rest of humanity, you would be wise to get over the silly notion that money is somehow a needless cause of human suffering.