Rory B. Mackay's Blog, page 9

Infinite Growth + Finite Planet = Collapse

Advocating a Resource Based Economy!

I first heard of the concept of a resource based economy in the filmZeitgeist: Moving Forward, which I will share next. It is a term coined by Jacque Fresco, an American designer, architect, futurist and philosopher, who is founder of the Venus Project, which aims to make the resource based economy a workable reality. It’s described as a holistic socio-economic system in which all goods and services are allocated freely as needed without the use of money, debt, credit, barter or servitude. Th...

How to save the world

“If we want this earth to provide for the needs of its inhabitants, human society must undergo a transformation. The world of tomorrow must be fundamentally different from the world as we know it [today].”UNESCO Report 2001

In my articles on our culture’s obsession with money and the unreal nature of money, I spent some time outlining the fundamental problems we face as a society and how, according to experts, if we don’t change our ways now, we’re headed toward ecological, economic and societ...

Roryisms: Existential uncertainty and karma yoga

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog, I deliberately planned for a blog hiatus the first couple of weeks in August but didn’t account for a pre-hiatus hiatus! Yet life intervenes. It’s been a strange time in which I learned again that the only way to do life is to be comfortable with the unknown of the future, to relax, let go and dance with life’s existential uncertainty. Make plans by all means — I have a number of plans that aren’t quite plans yet; they’re still being planned! — but...

Tao Te Ching 30: The art of war

- 30 -

Those who lead people by following the Tao

don’t try to override the world

or use weapons to enforce their will.

Using force always creates counterforce.

Weapons often turn against the wielder.

~

Wherever armies march,

thorns and briars grow.

After armies take to war,

bad years invariably follow.

~

After you have attained your purpose, you must stop.

You must not parade your victory

or boast of your ability.

You must not feel proud.

You must rather regret you had not been able

to prevent the war.

~

Whate...

Tao Te Ching 29: You can’t control life

- 29 -

Do you think you could take over the world

and improve it?

I do not believe it can be done.

~

Everything under heaven is a sacred vessel

and cannot be controlled.

To tamper with it is to spoil it.

To grasp it is to lose it.

~

Allow your life to unfold naturally.

Know that it too is a vessel of perfection.

~

Just as you breathe in and breathe out,

there is a time for being ahead

and a time for being behind;

a time for strain

and a time for ease;

a time to be up

and a time to be down;

a time to grow in stre...

Money is NOT real!

In my post on Our Culture’s Obsession With Money, I made the assertion that money is a man-created false god that has totally imprisoned us and is distorting and destroying the human spirit. I’m going to take things even further now. I’d like the preface this by saying that the following is not personal opinion, it’s verifiable fact (I’m not an economist, but I’ve done my research).

We assume that money is real because it’s so deeply-ingrained in our culture and psyche. But what if I was to te...

Tao Te Ching 28: Keep to the feminine

- 28 -

Know the masculine,

but keep to the feminine.

Be a valley under heaven.

If you embrace the world,

the Tao will never leave you

and you will become as a little child.

~

Know the white,

yet keep to the black:

be a pattern for the world.

If you are a pattern for the world,

the Tao within you will strengthen

and you will return whole to the infinite.

~

Know the glorious,

yet keep to the humble:

accept the world as it is.

If you embrace the world with compassion,

then you will live a life of abundant virtue.

~...

Our culture’s obsession with money: killing our soul as well as the planet?

“Money is the root of all evil”. That’s a truism that isn’t technically true. Money itself is neither good nor bad — it’s neutral. And, in spite of what we tell ourselves, it has NO inherent value other than that which we ascribe to it. It’s just a dirty old scrap of paper or a lump of metal that we all pretend has some special worth and so we devote our lives to acquiring as much of it as possible.

Many people become so hardened by their relentless pursuit of wealth that they cease caring who...

Tao Te Ching 26: A good traveller

- 27 -

A good traveller journeys without firm plans

and travels without leaving a a trace.

A good speaker is well rehearsed

and speaks without causing harm.

A good intellect has freed itself of

concepts and remains open to what is.

A well-made door is easy to open

and needs no locks.

A good knot needs no rope

and cannot be undone.

~

Thus the Sage is willing to help all people

and rejects no one.

She is there to help all of creation,

and doesn’t abandon even the smallest creature.

This is called embodying the...