U.S. Economy Grinds To Halt As Nation Realizes Money Just A Symbolic, Mutually Shared Illusion
WASHINGTON—The U.S. economy ceased to function this week after unexpected existential remarks by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke shocked Americans into realizing that money is, in fact, just a meaningless and intangible social construct.
What began as a routine report before the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday ended with Bernanke passionately disavowing the entire concept of currency, and negating in an instant the very foundation of the world's largest economy.
"Though raising interest rates is unlikely at the moment, the Fed will of course act appropriately if we…if we…" said Bernanke, who then paused for a moment, looked down at his prepared statement, and shook his head in utter disbelief. "You know what? It doesn't matter. None of this—this so-called 'money'—really matters at all."
"It's just an illusion," a wide-eyed Bernanke added as he removed bills from his wallet and slowly spread them out before him. "Just look at it: Meaningless pieces of paper with numbers printed on them. Worthless."
. . .
For some Americans, the fog of disbelief surrounding the nation's epiphany has begun to lift, with many building new lives free from the illusion of money.
Okay... It's from The Onion, but a girl can dream.
Actually, I posted this because it's one of those really poignant, "funny 'cause it's true" things. Not the part about Bernanke suddenly losing his religion. That won't happen. But the simple truth is that our current monetary system is a giant, soul sucking illusion. Also true, people are waking up to that fact.
If you haven't seen the Zeitgeist movies, I recommend doing so. Not that I necessarily support all of their conclusions or proposed solutions. The movies have been very fairly, I think, described as slickly produced agitprop. But they do lend some insight into why our economic model... well... doesn't make any sense. Notably, they explain in graphic detail the fact that money, from the moment of its creation, represents debt; not work, not material goods, not gold (not anymore), not anything of actual value. Debt. It represents debt. This sets up an underlying paradigm that is truly alarming. I know that most economists reject that characterization of fractional reserve banking, but symbolism matters. It is how we create our reality.
I have pointed many times to Marianne Williamson's lectures on money, in which she explains that money is barter. "You give this. You get that." I have also described money as "an abstraction of goods and services." In an ideal sense, that is true. Unfortunately, under our current economic model, divorced from the gold standard or any other material backing, it is more accurately described as "an abstraction of debt." This is a serious, serious problem. We are dealing with a financial system that is entirely faith based.
One of the most outspoken thinkers on our unsustainable economic model is Daniel Pinchbeck. In recent articles and projects, he calls for a total re-envisioning of our financial paradigm.
Opportunities such as this one don't come along very often and should be seized once they appear. When the edifice of mainstream society suddenly collapses, as is happening now, it is a fantastic time for artists, visionaries, mad scientists and seers to step forward and present a well-defined alternative. What is required, in my opinion, is not some moderate proposal or incremental change, but a complete shift in values and goals, making a polar reversal of our society's basic paradigm. If our consumer-based, materialism-driven model of society is dissolving, what can we offer in its place? Why not begin with the most elevated intentions? Why not offer the most imaginatively fabulous systemic redesign?
The fall of capitalism and the crisis of the biosphere could induce mass despair and misery, or they could impel the creative adaptation and conscious evolution of the human species. We could attain a new level of wisdom and build a compassionate global society in which resources are shared equitably while we devote ourselves to protecting threatened species and repairing damaged ecosystems. Considering the lightning-like pace of global communication and new social technologies, this change could happen with extraordinary speed.
In this Coast to Coast interview, Pinchbeck discusses his views in some detail. The interview is more broad ranging than that, focusing primarily on 2012 and his experiences with the archetype Quetzalcoatl. But, the crumbling of our financial edifices appears to be an integral part of the great shift. (As I've previously noted, both Karen Bishop and Time Monk Clif High see us moving away from our current money based system; although their perspectives on this are quite different.)
One particularly compelling item actually forecasts the financial collapse of 2008. I missed this when I first listened to this interview -- probably because the event had not yet occurred. Pinchbeck points to the prediction of Carl Johan Calleman. The discussion starts near the end of video six. I also located the germane passage in Pinchbeck's 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl. (p.391)
ALTHOUGH WE DO NOT KNOW how the Classic Maya interpreted the prophetic culmination of their Long Count, Carl Johan Calleman has elaborated a meticulously exact fractal model of time from the Mayan calendar, in which human consciousness evolves through nine "Underworlds," each twenty times faster in linear time than the previous one. Each underworld passes through a thirteen-stage process of alternating light and dark energy currents -- or seven "days" and six "nights" of creation -- culminating in a new level of realization. According to Calleman's model, sometime around the year 2008 -- the "fifth night" of the current underworld, ruled by the energies of Tezcatlipoca, the jaguar god of night and black magic -- our current socioeconomic system will suffer a drastic and irrevocable collapse.
One rather noteworthy synchronicity I'd like to point out: At the very end of the interview with Daniel Pinchbeck, a clearly knowledgeable caller gives an interpretation of the return of Quetzalcoatl. He associates it with the Venus transit and offers some analysis about how its reflective nature points us to oneness consciousness. In glancing over the latest info posted on the Zeitgeist website, I noticed that they call their action plan the Venus Project. Second on the list of its goals: "Transcending all of the artificial boundaries that separate people." Not reading a whole lot into that. Just thought it was a curious synchronicity.
And now, more on creating a new mythology of money from Daniel Pinchbeck:
Addendum: Yes. I know the above is extremely disjointed, tangential, and may even make absolutely no sense at all. I apologize. I am currently experiencing what I will henceforth term Ascension Related Fatigue or ARF. It involves, among other things, entire nights spent in endless, action-adventure dreams that leave me needing a nap after I wake up. Said naps include more exhausting, technicolor dreaming. You get the picture.
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