Eleven Ideas to Change Your World

Christopher M. Quigley
B.Sc., M.M.I.I. Grad., M.A.

1. Precession:
The Intercomplementary Integrity of the Universe

Buckminster Fuller in his consciousness-raising masterpiece "Critical

Path" presented the idea that precession, i.e. the laws governing the
interbehaviours of all bodies in motion, had relevance to human history.

In essence he believed that consciousness itself was far too significant a

reality in the cosmos for it to be without purpose. He therefore asserted
that nature was supporting the success of human development despite
mankind's error, stupidity and corruption. He conceived of a force that
actively helps and assists those who use their individual talents for the
greater good of the greatest number. He named this phenomenon;
"precession". He explains it as follows:

"The big question remained: how do you obtain the money to live with
and to acquire the materials and tools with which to work? Since nature
was clearly intent on making humans successful in support of the
integrity of eternally regenerative Universe, it seemed clear to me that if I
undertook ever more humanly favourable physical-environment-
producing artefact developments, that did in fact improve the chances of
all humanity's successful development, it was quite possible that nature
would support my efforts, provided I was choosing the successively most
efficient technical means of doing so. Nature was clearly supporting all
her intercomplementary ecological regenerative tasks-ergo; I must so
commit myself and must depend upon nature providing the physical
means of realization of my invented environment-advantaging artefacts. I
noted that nature did nor require hydrogen to "earn a living" before
allowing hydrogen to behave in the unique manner in which it does.
Nature does not require that any if its intercomplementing members earn
a living.

Because I could see that this precessional principle of self-employment

was a reasonably realistic probability, I resolved to adopt such a course
formally.
I assumed that nature would "evaluate" my work as I went along. If I was
doing what nature wanted done, and if I was doing it in promising ways,
permitted by nature's principles, I would find my work being
economically sustained and vice versa."

Please note that Mr. Fuller made this commitment when he was broke,
disheartened and had just suffered through the death of his first baby girl.

He went on to become one of the most influential modern design

engineers of all time.

2. The Natural Law of Money Issue:

Anybody has the right to issue money once they can provide
value

In a life spanning over 70 years, one of the greatest students of money,

and it's meaning, was the American E.C. Riegel. In his book "Flight from
Inflation", he identified money as the mathematics of value and argued,
that for a democracy to thrive, the money power must be free. He spent
his life pointing out that this money power is YOU AND ME. He was
amazed that very few knew this life-changing secret.

The freedom of exchange is the foundation of all freedoms, according to

Riegel, and the freedom of exchange unencumbered is the truest
democratic freedom of mankind. He felt the best way to vote was to vote
every day with your actions.

In a free community money is issued by a buyer. Such a money issuer

must, in exchange for the goods and services he buys from the market,
place other goods or services into the market place. Thus money as a
money instrument is evidence of a purchase that is issued by a purchaser
to a seller. Therefore, MONEY IS ACTUALLY BACKED BY THE
VALUE SURRENDERED BY THE SELLER AND POTENTIALLY
BACKED BY THE VALUE IN THE POSSESSION OF THE NEXT
SELLER.

Thus, in essence: money is issued by a purchaser, but it must be issued by

a purchaser who can, and is, prepared to issue value; it is a tradesman's
agreement to carry on split barter among themselves. From this analysis
we can deduce that commercial banks do not "lend" money. They, in fact,
permit the "borrower" to issue money {which everybody should have the
personal unencumbered right to do if a free democracy}. Once given
"permission", the borrower now has the "legal" authorization to write
cheques to the extent of the loan and tenders them in trade. ONLY UPON
THEIR ACCEPTANCE by a seller, who in fact provides value, does new
money come into existence.

From this reality of the natural law of money issue, it must be understood,
that governments cannot qualify as issuers because they are not in the real
situation of personal enterprisers who can provide value.

Thus, in essence, money is a social phenomenon based on mutual respect,

co-operation and interest. When this natural contract is broken, through
abuse of power, the result is usually inflation. Simply put, inflation is the
over issue of money without the required provision of value. Such a
situation can be entertained in the short term but in the long term this
fraud destroys the social system.

3. Metanoia:
Embracing thoughts beyond present limitations;

The present World psyche needs to move from a zeitgeist of paranoia to

one of metanoia. In other words we need to move beyond fear and learn
to embrace joy and hope and faith.

The World recovered swiftly from two world wars and moved forward
but the present mind-set of permanent and unending war is wearing down
even the most optimistic of souls. Currently everything seems increas-
ingly to be scripted by socialist engineering types who care more about
change for the sake of power rather than for the benefit of some common
good.

We need to believe again in each other and the community of good. This
belief would allow us to transcend the mundane, the cynical and drudgery
of modern systems. We need to accept the limitations of scientific reason
and engage the reality of the unknowable. Life is a mystery. Metanoia
could give us inner space for joy and courage and grant us the confidence
to try the road less travelled.

Human beings need freedom and meaning as well as security. Let us limit
our need for money and accordingly increase our capacity and
opportunity to grant our life its unique and special meaning.
4. Individuation:
The process of self-actualization: the individual matters

According to Carl Gustaff Jung in his "Man and his Symbols", to fulfil
one's destiny is the greatest achievement. But to Jung this was a goal not
only for champions but for every human being; for him to be human
meant to be oneself. During the course of a lifetime of study he
discovered that within the human personality there was a psychic energy
available within us, which could assist us in our personal self-
development. Jung called this process individuation.

The centre of the psyche is the self. When a person is individuated or

individuating they have a successful dialogue between the unconscious
and the conscious. This "narrative" is normally executed through dream
image, intuition and symbols. The main result of this activity is a more
resourceful, balanced, courageous, creative and self-reliant individual.

It is useless to compare yourself to others when one realises the

importance of individuality and uniqueness. Modernity has tried to
impose crushing conformity through educational indoctrination and
generic mass media. A society that supports individuation is the exact
opposite to a mass socialized culture. It nurtures creativity, self, purpose
and meaning. In the words of Jung:

"As any change must begin somewhere, it is the single individual who
will experience it and carry it through. The change must indeed begin
within an individual; it might be any one of us. Nobody can afford to look
around and to wait for somebody else to do what he is loath to do."

Thus the psychological process of individuation allows the individual

time and space to open up a framework of development between the
unconscious and the conscious; the possible and the actual; the past and
the present/future. To "escape the horror of history" we must all help to
find new ways to live; everybody matters.

5. Civitas:
Thinking and acting for the greater good

Giambattista Vico in his classic book "New Science" pointed out that the
greatest achievement of mankind was the growth of civil society out of
the terror of barbaric nature. In his view God had created man, but man
and man alone had constructed civilization. Thus, for Vico, the greatest
investigation man could undertake was to truly understand how this
miracle of order and achievement was made manifest through the passage
of time.

In the course of his study Giambattista came to comprehend the

importance of moral order in the development of societies. This Civitas,
or sense of the greater good, formed the bedrock of the social contract
that built Alexandria, Sparta, Greece and Rome.

Unfortunately it is all too obvious that this old natural civic sense is dying
in modern society and unless we educate our youth about the fragility of
society I fear civil order will continue to breakdown. The end result could
be an ongoing civil war within "developed" nations that will eventually
lead to a new Dark Age of city-states and self-preservation.

In his book "The Evolution of Civilizations" Prof. Carroll Quigley

summed up the problem succinctly:

"The third age of conflict of our society began to display the ordinary
marks of such a stage about 1890. At that time, in the principal industrial
countries, it became clear that the rate of expansion had reversed itself....
All the characteristics of an age of irrationality began to appear on all
sides. Increased gambling, increased smoking, the growing use of alcohol
and narcotics, a growing obsession with sex and perversions of sex, an
increased mania for speed, for nervous tension, and for noise; above all,
perhaps, a growing tendency to regard violence as a solution for all
problems, be they domestic, social, economic, ideological or
international. In fact, violence as a symbol of our growing irrationality
has had an increasing role in activity for its own sake, when no possible
justification could be made that the activity was seeking to solve a
problem.

All the characteristics of any age of conflict are too obvious to require
further comment. They arose because the organizational patterns of our
culture CEASED TO FUNCTION AS INSTRUMENTS........Religious
organizations no longer linked men to God but adopted diverse mundane
purposes. Our intellectual theories no longer explained anything or made
us at home in the Universe. Our social patterns no longer satisfied our
gregarious needs, even when we fled from the lonely anonymity of the
city to the rat-race uniformity of sub-urbanism. Our political
organizations increased the burden of their demands on our time, energy
and wealth but provided with growing ineffectiveness the justice, public
order, education, protection, or incidental amenities we had come to
expect from them. And on the military level costs rose at an astronomical
rate without being able to catch up with our increased danger."

Thus, the culture of the west needs to reconnect with its roots.
Philosophy, learning, investigation, discipline, self-sacrifice, future
orientation all these attributes need to be focused upon and nurtured for
out youth. Sport, lotteries, quiz games, celebrity, reality shows, crime, are
all very well but if they become the essential core of modern mentality
then it bodes a society trending towards narrow self interest and terminal
decline. We need to start believing in meaning again and the place to start
is to believe in yourself and the power of a human life.

6. Present Sense:
Be

In essence you are urged you to come into a STATE OF PRESENT

because most folk, believe it or not, live a large part of their "conscious"
lives in unconscious trance and illusion. The trance and illusion of:
media, fashion, desire, worry, fear, anxiety and future expectation.

You are asked to be still and endeavour to become aware of all your
senses in order: Touch, Taste, Sight, Smell and Sound:

Touch: Feel the sensation of your clothes on your skin as you sit
erect with hands placed flat upon your thighs.

Taste: Taste the saliva upon your inner mouth and lips.

Sight: See the dark pink shadow of your eye lids fall upon your
retina.

Smell: Smell the air you breathe as it moves slowly and deeply
through your body.

Sound: Hear the activity of nature and society around you. Expand
this sense to take in the furthest consciousness you can
imagine.

You are recommend you take 77 days to practice this "sense" exercise for
five minutes. This process will take persistence but will be worth the
effort. It will amount to a spiritual sabbatical in your habitual ebb and
flow.
This disciplined meditative effort will gradually bring you into your
present sense. While in this state you will become more intuitive and
aware and engaged. It is actually the best place to process your
surrounding and grow in self wisdom.

In the present sense you will become more resourceful and resilient and
quietly discover that this is the best state to be in all day, every day.

7. NLP:
The map is not the territory

One of the greatest breakthroughs in contemporary psychology has been

the development of NLP or neuro-linguistic-programming.

One of the main mantras of this discipline in the idea that: "the map is not
the territory". This statement aims to communicate to initiates the concept
that very often the way we "see the world in our minds" is not how the
world actually works.

If we have persistent problems in our life very often it is because our

"map" is faulty.

NLP believes that people can and do change and one of the best ways to
bring about successful change is through a change in ATTITUDE. A
modification in attitude will only come about when we have the humility
to accept that the outer world has a validity that is different than the
validity of our inner world. Through constant attention to what is
happening to us and through the "re-running" of personal experience we
grant ourselves the opportunity to observe and grow.

This willingness to learn from ourselves takes humility and maturity. But
the results can be marvellous and immediate.

8. Transcendence:
The human spirit defines the world: it is not the world that
defines the human spirit.

James Joyce often stated that history was a nightmare from which he
sought to escape. Hegel was the first philosopher to fully incorporate time
(history) into his system and thereby he produced the mental framework
for advancing socialism and ultimately communism. Under his system of
thought the only "time" is human time and its ultimate end product is a
closed society where individuality is lost and "time" stops. Thus a
nightmare of the "ever bureaucratic present" is replacing the nightmare of
"history" around the globe.

Hegel in his masterwork "Phenomenology of Spirit" propounded that the

only time that matters is human time, all else (i.e. nature) is space. This
human time develops through a "dialectic" process of thesis, antithesis
and synthesis. For Hegel reality was all about a struggle for recognition
and the story of history is the story of this struggle. Hegelian conflict
produces masters and slaves. Masters order society; slaves build society.
History is the story of this human action. While Hegel accepted the
existence of spirit he rejected the existence of any God, he was a total
materialist.

The end result of this philosophy was a rejection of the divine and a
replacement of the role of God by the State. This became the
philosophical bedrock for the rise of Socialism and Communism. This
mentality accepted that Man was alone and must rely on his own devices
to survive and prosper. To quote Hegel:

"Man is negating action, which transforms given being and, by

transforming it, transforms itself. Man IS what he IS only to the extent
that he BECOMES what he is; HIS TRUE BEING IS BECOMING,
TIME, HISTORY; and he becomes, he is history only in and by action
that negates the given, THE ACTION OF FIGHTING AND OF
WORK........."

For my part one can only truly understand the modern march toward
global socialism when one understands Hegel. In almost every society
today we see five and ten year "economic & social plans". Human beings
have become subservient to a FUTURE rather than the PRESENT. In
other words the world lives in a suspended state of future orientation.
"Nobody is here everybody is there". When one understands the nature of
the Hegelian system one can readily comprehend why its teachings were
so influential on Marx, Engels and Lenin. Anybody can be made to do
anything in the expectation of the future "Utopia". Unfortunately what
Marx and Lenin knew, which they did not inform their followers, was
that Hegelianism is a closed philosophy, which produces a static society,
which has no allowance for individuality. Static societies eventually stop
"time" and opportunity is limited due to "statism". This is exactly what is
happening all over the world today. Material future orientation is making
the whole world "the same" and "time" (i.e. human time) appears to be
the same also. (E. G. the New Year, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and
Christmas all blend into one similar event throughout the globe and
nothing is "special" anymore because the local human "magic", the
mystery and romance have gone and nobody really understands why).

To prevent monolithic world sameness overtaking every society and

destroying individuality folks need to understand the underlying Hegelian
materialism surrounding modern culture. You cannot overcome what
you do not understand.

Human culture is more than "a plan". The present does matter.
Individuality is paramount. Freedom is essential to true peace and
happiness. Creativity and individuality, fundamental benchmarks of
western culture, need to become heroic ideals again. TIME HAS NOT
STOPPED BECAUSE "GOD IS DEAD"; as Hegel proposed. "God" is
alive and is a human experience of truth, which accepts that there is
transcendence.

Human beings evolved from nature. Therefore Hegel is wrong when he

asserted that nature is "space" because the development of human
consciousness enabled human beings to move beyond "nature" and
transform it, therefore human consciousness is "transcendence" made
manifest. This "transcendence" means that the future is not certain but is
free and open and subject to potentials and possibilities as yet unknown.
Consciousness proves Hegel false.

Thus in essence the spiritual crisis in World events is a crisis in human

philosophy. Freedom and individuality and transcendent creativity need
to be championed against statisim, totalitarianism and bureaucratic
control.

If such socialist "planning" is allowed to flourish unchallenged eventually

Europe, America, Asia and India will be crushed under Global
institutionalism. The role of individual freedom will be replaced with
political opportunism and exploitation. Western culture needs a
reawakening of the essence of the human spirit, which were its hallmark.
This spirit once died in the dark ages but miraculously it experienced a
rebirth. Do we have the courage, the insight and the philosophical
awareness to nurture a new renaissance?

9. Existentialism:
You are free, so choose

The first philosophical book I ever read was on the subject of

Existentialism. The essay that really impressed me was one by J. P. Sartre
Called; "Existentialism is a Humanism". While I did not agree with the
author's atheism I admired his central thesis that our existence, our
apparent isolation, our anxiety, our material abandonment in the world of
modernity proved our absolute FREEDOM and that this freedom
demanded one thing and one thing alone: RESPONSIBILITY. With
responsibility came the defining human issue: CHOICE.

"Man makes himself; he is not found readymade; he makes himself by

the choice of his morality, and he cannot but choose a morality, such is
the circumstances upon him…..

And at the point of departure there cannot be any other truth than this, I
think, therefore I am, which is the absolute truth of consciousness as it
attains to itself. ……

In order to define the probable one must possess the true. Before
there can be any truth whatever, then, there must be an absolute
truth, and there is such a truth which is simple, easily attained and
within the reach of everybody; it consists in one's immediate sense of
one's self."

Therefore, in essence, we are all in life together. We are all individually

alone but this fact is not a negative once we realise we must all deal with
the "universality of the human condition". Existentialism invites us to
"get on with it" and therein lays the only salvation of man and woman:
choice backed by confident action.

10. The Open-source Movement:

Giving so that you may receive

The essence of the myth of the Western tradition is the ideal of an

independent life lived in liberty and dignity through family and
community. This liberty and independence promotes enterprise and
action. Such a myth engendered the human initiative which gave birth to
such epoch-changing developments as paper money, financial credit,
steam power, the combustion engine, steel hull shipping, electricity,
wireless communication, television, air flight, nuclear power, the micro
chip and the Internet.

The Western tradition is hopeful, future oriented, ordered and based on

action, reflection and compromise. In the event of "either /or" the West
will opt for both, if possible. Its successful evolution is based on an ever
evolving dialectic, never totally true, but always moving toward a more
comprehensive understanding of truth. In this manner the natural outlook
of the West is not just material or spiritual. It is a synthesis of both: - the
body and the soul matter equally.

One of the great mysteries of Western civilization, currently centred in

Washington, and which now dominates the World, is the fact that the
West has re-invented itself three times. This rebirth came about through
the process of circumvention and reform of old inefficient institutions
and mind-sets. This process of rebirth resulted in new dynamic engines of
growth being designed, developed and applied. The dates the three phases
of Western expansion as follows:

1. 970 - 1270
2. 1420 - 1650
3 1730 - 1929

In each case the instruments of expansion were respectively:

1. Feudalism
2. Commercial Capitalism
3. The Industrial Revolution

If the West is to transcend our age of conflict and enter a new age of
expansion the only way forward is through human initiative, enterprise
and action. The open-source movement, which is an effort to
circumvent a failed economic model based on "price", is just such an
epoch changing initiative. But this creativity will only blossom in an
environment of true liberty and dignified freedom. Repression, on the
other hand, would stifle any such initiative and would spell the end of
Western society. Hopes could be dashed. Civil conflict could ensue. The
current post-socialist model called "pluralism" does not appear to have at
its disposal a new instrument of expansion. Its guiding philosophy seems
to be one of atrophy. The modus operandi of contemporary political
power evidences a group of "vested interests" holding on to money rather
than motivating and organizing the creation of new wealth.

Reformation and change can come about through outright reform or

circumvention and this latter method I believe is beginning to operate and
should be fostered by enlightened leadership. This is a solution in which
everybody can play a part.

In essence, co-operative action is circumventing frustration.

Eventually this movement, if fostered, will give the current atrophied
structure much needed time and options. And options are crucial.
Circumvention will work, but it must be understood by power groups that
it is essential and thus should not be destroyed. Such insight is what is
imperative from our political masters today. This circumvention must
redevelop energy systems, monetary theory, financial practice, political
structure, media distribution, excellence in education, etc. At the end of
the day, however, the goal has to be the conceptualization,
development and application of a new instrument of wealth creation
and distribution. Open-source initiatives have the potential to do this
particularly with the continued growth of broadband systems.

The open-source movement has shown how difficult, complex problems

can be solved in community, outside the control of official economic
"price" doctrine. The rules are being rewritten and can be interpreted by
those who understand what is happening. The explosion of the Internet is
but one example of this developing paradigm in successful operation.
Through liberty positive change could come about and this may lead the
West toward a fourth period of expansion resulting in a new phase of
development for the world.

11. Authenticity:
Simply being the hero of your self

Simple Gifts

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight

'Till by turning, turning we come round right.

 Old Shaker Song
By
Joseph Brackett Jr. 1848

References:

"Critical Path"
Buckminster Fuller

"Flight from Inflation"

E.C. Riegel

"Man and His Symbols"

C.G. Jung

"New Science"
Giambattista Vico

"The Evolution of Civilizations"

Prof. Carroll Quigley

"Introducing NLP"
Joseph O'Connor

"Existentialism from"
Dostoevsky to Sartre"
Walter Kaufman

"Hegel's Phenomenology of
the Spirit"
Translated by A.V. Miller

www.wealthbuilder.ie May 2009