I've had two recent opporunities to become immersed in economics far beyond trying to balance a checkbook. The first took place in my own home, and the second occured on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington D.C. To understand them, let me first introduce you to Louis.
Louis Bohtlingk is Dutch, and today is the publication date for his unusual book "Dare to Care: A Love-Based Foundation for Money and Finance." I met him recently over lunch in Washington D.C. at the suggestion of a friend. He asked if he could do a workshop in our house, since he knew that we had large room that would be sufficient for what he was planning. Then he asked if I would, in addition to hosting, play the role of the "God of Money." I had only a vague idea what I was getting into when I said yes to his request.
Our house filled with people, and the neighbors were soon wondering what sort of new neighbors they had on their quiet street. Six cars in the driveway, over a dozen people travelling from New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania, all camped in our house or in friends' houses around town. The workshop turned out to be a dramatic encounter with The God of Money, played by me. The participants were led on an encounter, guided by the Eagle and the Condor, and facilitated by a Community Keeper and the Godess of Abundance (played by my wife, Wyn). There was a touch of shamanism, and we used masks, poetry and music to create the mystery and to open up the hearts and make the archetypes larger than life for the weekend.
The question to be explored in the workshop was, what have been your experiences when encountering The God of Money in the past ... have they been dominated by fear, greed, possessiveness, selfishness, or a desire for power? and how can you move past those experiences, through a psychological threshhold into a recognition and acceptance of abundance? Of course money is just a tool, and we have allowed the "God of Money" to take on attributes of fear, etc. In his new book, Louis defines money as an energetic exchange between two people. That energy can be a positive, love-based win/win for the two people engaged in the encounter rather than a fear-based encounter, fearing scarcity, feeling obligated, wanting to purchase more bigger and better "things," and so forth. The net result of the weekend with Louis and all of the workshop participants was a new slate of very good friends, a deeper understanding of the role that money plays in people's lives, and a sense of commitment to begin changing how money is created and how it is defined in our lives. Consider just one statement from Louis' new book: instead of basing our currency on a relatively rare mineral such as gold or silver, why not base it on an abundant source such as solar energy? Then everyone can have sufficient money for food, shelter, education, and basic human dignity.
That brings us to the second encounter with economics. I offered long ago to be one of the speakers at the Coffee Party rally on the steps of the nation's Capitol building. I was planning on talking about "We hold these truths to be self-evident ..." and how "We" meant every human, not corporations, not just Americans, not just the rich, not just men and women, not just members of a particular political party ....
The day came and I was told in advance that I had just three minutes to say what I had to say. Then, as it happened, the weather turned nasty. It was pouring rain, the lawn where the Coffee Party rally was being held was deep in mud, and it was freezing, and starting to turn into the late October blizzard that hit the Atlantic coastal States. I was maybe the tenth person at the podium, and at least five of earlier speakers talked about the first few lines of the Declaration of Independence. Another speaker was one of the spokespersons for the "Occupy Wall Street" folks, and he eloquently covered many of the grievances that the "99%" have with the establishment. So, very quickly, my talk turned from "Unalienable Rights" to "Love-based Economics."
It was too cold to pause for pictures. and would have been mean for me to ask someone to use my cell phone to snap a few pictures. But picture me in a heavy jacket, with a stocking cap on my head, holding an umbrella and you get the picture. I talked about the things that I love. Noetics. Sharing. Unity. Collective consciousness. Heart resonance. Co-creativity. And all of that made it very easy to stand in front of a couple hundred people and mention the very real possibility, and indeed the necessity, of a love-based economy, one where the only way to ensure that "you" or "I" are being properly cared for is to ensure that every cell of our body is being nourished and cared for. Of course, the cells of the human body include every one of "We, the People," no matter where we live, no matter whether we are employed or not, no matter if we are rich or poor, black or white or red or yellow, or green or any of 7 billion shades in between, no matter if we are Christian or Moslem or Jewish or Baha'i or agnostic or atheist ... we are all one body, and if any part of that body is suffering injustice or poor conditions, we are all suffering.
In my 3 minutes of fame, I also managed to get in a list of folks who should be required reading (in print or on websites), including Louis Bohtlingk (http://carefirstworld.com), Steven Lovink (http://planet2025.net and http://powerofone.org), Hazel Henderson (http://hazelhenderson.com), Charles Eisenstein (his latest book is Sacred Economics), and Nancy Polend (http://creatingthenewworld.org/) among others. All are working to create a sustainable and sacred future. Another book I wish I had mentioned is Natural Capitalism, by Paul Hawken and Amory Lovins.
I was amazed how well my talk was received. It is not mainstream thinking, but it should be, and it seems to resonate with people. Wish I could have stayed on to talk to folks ... at least one member of the audience hunted me down before I headed for the warm confines of the car and said she know knew why she was there ... because she had to hear what I had to say. Here's a reading list for you, so you can hear what I had to say last Saturday on the steps of the Capitol.
