“A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.”
– Michael Pollan, Author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”

Join this “growing” movement. Liberate yourself. Rip it out.

“If only I could only be rich”

The thought that fueled the “American Dream“, right?

If only I could be rich – all my problems would be solved and I would be happy.

At this point, it should be painfully obvious to all that the American Dream was always an illusion.

A “carrot for the masses” that kept the whole system going for so long – until now.

If it’s not obvious to us by this point, then we are simply not paying attention.

Maybe we have been too busy to pay attention? Or maybe we have been “asleep”?

As the late great George Carlin said before his recent passing, “They call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.”

“The New Good Life” by John Robbins, is a book that takes the traditional Holy Grail notion of “financial freedom”….and without demonizing those who have acquired significant financial wealth…….stands it on its head.

He then proceeds to skillfully slice it open – allowing the ugly contents of the “Old Good Life” to pour out onto the floor for all to see.

If you want to liberate yourself, and find out what “financial freedom” truly means, then read this book.

You just might start living a better life – instead of dreaming about one.

“This was never about the money, this was about us against the system. That system that kills the human spirit. We stand for something. We are here to show those guys that are inching their way on the freeways in their metal coffins that the human spirit is still alive”
– Patrick Swayze as “Bodhi” from the movie Point Break (1991)

So here we are.

This year, the average American father will spend three times as much time commuting to and from work…….. as he does playing with his children.

This year, the average American mother will spend seven times as much time shopping ….as she does playing with her children.

What kind of society have we become? What kind of species are we becoming?

Happy Earth Day 2011

Ask yourself who benefits the most from high consumption based societies….and you will realize the enemy.

The whole world is in a box.

Just like the one you are staring into at the moment.

And you can take the box wherever you go!

If you choose, you can never not have the ability to look into the box.

I have taken about a 3 month “sabbatical” from blogging, because I feel like the box is taking over my life. My primal instincts are telling me something just isn’t “right” about all this.

I am multi-tasking multi-tasks now.

Seems …..I am never not at work anymore.

And I am not a doctor.

So… what’s a little perpetual anxiety to put up with, when you can use the box and stay so connected socially with family and friends – you know – those people you REALLY want to talk to?

But wait……are you as “connected” as you think you are with those people?

In otherwords, are you REALLY communicating with them through the box?

< Any behavioral psychologist or cultural anthropologist will tell you that at least 50% of effective human communication is “non-verbal”. Body language, facial expressions, eye movement, voice tone, voice pace, physical setting, context, even smell….comprise the other 50%. And what about the people, often loved ones, physically in your presence and yearning for eye contact....while you look into the box? Or maybe they, too, are looking into the box as they stand in front of you, and the whole sordid scene is one of group “perpetual preoccupation”? So at best, we are more than likely only “half-communicating” most of the time when using the box. Now, some would say half-communicating is better than none. But I say half-communicating is actually worse than not communicating at all, as it only leads to confusion, dis-information, and an overall "false sense" of effective communication. That’s just my opinion. But it seems by now we would have many of our larger problems as a species solved, or at least headed more swiftly in that direction, if I was wrong. Seems to me, we may even be going backwards overall on many large and critical issues facing Humanity. And besides, as a species, we did pretty well "communication wise" before the box.

Afterall, before the box….. we created algebra, built skyscrapers, and put some of our own species on the moon, all without the box. Not too shabby. And as kids, we simply told our moms before school in the morning, that we would be home for dinner at 6 pm, and then miraculously, we showed up on time!

Going Primal is not a movement promoting resistance to communication technology. On the contrary, it welcomes the value this radical new tool offers, such as powering positive social movements.

But like a judo move in cyber space, Going Primal will not hesitate to use the power and momentum of the box, in an attempt to put the box in its place.

Because right now, we are being consumed by the box.

we were always the “operators” of the tool.

But now – the tool is “operating” us.

If you believe that to be an “alarmist” statement, then ditch all your cell phones, computers, BlackBerrys, i-Phones, i-Pads, GPS, and Droids, and see what happens.

Go ahead. I dare you.

Some people believe computers will someday take over the world.

Going Primal simply believes they already have – and we just live in it.

In the light of the recent horrific violence at a political event in Arizona, it feels necessary to re-confirm Going Primal’s mission, and the means of the mission.

Let it be clear that Going Primal is a human sustainability movement which promotes non-violence only.

In fact, it is our darkest primal urges, like those displayed in Arizona, that the movement seeks to understand and master through future “conscious” evolution…. rather than defaulting to the “unconscious evolution” that has been our master since the dawn of our species.

It is unconscious evolution that has allowed the dark side of our primal nature to consistently over power the bright side of our primal nature, and led us to the many degenerative issues we still face as part of the human condition.

For instance, unconscious evolution can keep us emotionally divided as a Nation.

Just like we are now.

Most of our highest “leaders” know this, and often exploit this aspect of our dark side. For they know that a “divided ship never mutinies”.

They prefer us to remain locked within this dark side of our primal nature, so that they can enhance and maintain their power, without being fully accountable to the remaining 99.99% of us. So they cater to our dark side: rampant consumption, superficiality, materialism, egoism, racism, hyper-competitiveness, lust, and violence.

And most of us keep falling for it.

So what would a “mutiny” look like if and when the remaining 99.99% of us start evolving “consciously”?

Imagine a pack of kids in a park on their last day of summer vacation…

One kid comes up with what sounds like a great game of tag. He explains the game, and all the children join in and start to play his game. It is fun at first, and the kids all seem satisfied with the game.

But as time goes by, a few kids notice that the kid who invented and leads the game is winning the game every time. At first, they shuck this observation off, thinking that maybe this kid is just really good at the game.

And that they need to try even harder.

So they do.

And besides, it’s the last day of summer – no time to waste.

But as the games wear on, the kids become increasingly hotter and sweatier….while the kid who invented the game appears to be loafing most of the time now. Heck, he is not even sweating. And he is still winning every time.

In fact, it seems the more effort they put out, the easier he wins.

So the kids start talking amongst each other. Soon, it becomes obvious to all the kids that the game is rigged. Because their minds are still more pure and intuitive than our well “conditioned” adult minds, the pack of kids quickly reach a “mass consciousness”.

The pack instinctually knows they are the more powerful entity, and that if they all simply stop playing the game, this game will end.

So…after a few scatological names and insults shouted at the kid who was cheating, the pack of kids simply stop playing the game.

The game is over.

The imbalance is gone.

There is no need for violence or retribution. The kid who invented the game loses the trust of his friends….and drifts away.

The pack of kids go on to enjoy their last day of summer vacation.

THAT’S the “mutiny’ promoted by Going Primal.

It’s similar to the peaceful resistance Gandhi used in India to rid his fellow countrymen of the oppressive British: if the game is rigged – stop playing the game.

Then the people who run the game, will lose their power over you.

Their control will simple cease to exist.

But how do I stop playing “the game”?

There are many ways, which will all be explored here at Going Primal.

In short, you begin by consciously “controlling the controllables” in your own life.

In American society, the single most effective way to stop “playing the game”, is to carry out one key act of non-violence.

It is a simple act anyone can do. Anyone.

It’s called …..GET RID OF YOUR TELEVSION.

This device usually tells you what you want – not what you need.
It distorts your reality in negative way, and disconnects you from Nature and each other. It makes you feel bad about yourself.

The list of negatives is exponentially longer than the list of positives.

You may miss your television at first.
But soon you will begin to feel quietly liberated from “the game”, and you will never look back.

We are all one big global pack of kids now.
It’s time to restore the balance.

It’s time to begin the quiet mutiny of Going Primal.

The look on their face, eh?

They seem so surprised.

In our “hunting and gathering” days, this scene would have been much more interesting.

In those seemingly long ago days, when our ancestors lived in relatively small groups and flourished within native habitats….our ancestors personally knew their “leaders”. This was true because the leaders lived among them on a daily basis. Leaders were part of the pack.

These leaders ascended to a top level of responsibility among the group, usually through some combination of hard work, intelligence, creativity, bravery and wisdom.

We were very picky about “leadership” in those days.

By and large, these leaders consistently acted on behalf of the overall group’s survival, and approached their critical leadership role as a sacred and honorable duty. They also knew they would be under constant observation by the pack, as there were not many distractions for the pack in those days.

However, in the rare instance that a leader began hoarding food, or other critical resources, or acting in other dishonest ways that were not in the best interests of the entire group’s well being – they were simply confronted by the pack.

In a time of day-to day-survival, this type of betrayal was considered attempted murder. The consequences for blatant dishonesty by a leader were usually swift, severe and unforgiving, and often included dismemberment/and or death at the hands of the pack.

Needless to say, it’s easy to understand how accountability by the leaders was the norm. This norm lasted for eons of human evolution.

Then, since the relatively recent dawn of agriculture, a distancing between the leaders and the pack began to escalate to now: a time when the majority of humanity on Earth now lives crammed into grossly artificial habitats known as “cities” and “suburbs”, governed by so called “leaders”.

In fact, never before in the entire history of the human species, have so few been able to control so many. Welcome to 2011.

Today, we only “think” we know our leaders.

In the Information Age, we see their faces on TV, hear their voices, and read about them on the Internet. So on a subconscious level, our brain tells us we “know” our leaders.

And since 99.9 % of our evolutionary existence occurred in a “hunting and gathering” mode, our brain, even among the most cynical of us, subconsciously still tells us to “trust” these leaders……provided these they tell us what we want to hear, and seem on “our side”.

So to this day, our brains remain wired at a primal level to know and trust our leaders.

The reality today, of course, is that we don’t “know” our highest leaders from Adam.

And never will.

The reality today is that vast majority of us will never see these leaders in person, much less sit with them, work with them, eat with them, or talk with them. In fact, often time the people we think are our leaders, are nothing but puppets controlled by more powerful leaders.

In effect, our leaders today, especially our highest ones, could literally be holograms, and we would never know the difference.

Don’t think most our current leaders don’t realize all of this.
And exploit it to their advantage.
They know we are busy and easily distracted.
And disconnected from Nature. And divided from each other.

They actually prefer all of this, take it for granted, and often consciously promote it.

Getting “voted out of office”, which is rare, or being terminated but given a “golden parachute”, is not adequate “accountability” if we are talking about the well being and/or very survival of the pack – the “pack” now being the entire human race.

The leaders will be so suprised.

Happy Autumnal Equinox everyone.

I am taking a break from blogging due to an ironic development in my life, but will be back for good next week.

Coming next:  “Domestication of the Species“.

IN THE MEANTIME:

“Don’t let the bastards…… grind you down.”    

                                                                                          – Bono from U2’s “Acrobat”

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6427680-is-food-the-ultimate-secret-exposed-a-conspiracy-theory

 

This is what happens to our species when it is disconnected from Nature and isolated from loved ones….subjected to unnatural groupings within confined spaces in remote settings…..and then mesmerized into a trance of perpetual anxiety and escalating expectations of production, dealt out by hyper-paced electronic task masters that steadily hum with clicks, beeps, and whirrs, while cooly demanding that we be sedentary and succumb to their constant and infallible surveillance …… body, mind, and soul fused to a virtual world for eight hours each work day, day after day, week after week, year after year after year……..