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The Horizon Project

Posted on Nov 19th, 2008 by peter : ______ peter
Horizon Project


The picture is a bit blurry but the sound is crisp!

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20/20 - Politically Incorrect Guide To Politics

Posted on Oct 21st, 2008 by peter : ______ peter
Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:


Part 5:


Part 6:
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Tagged with: politics

Zeitgeist: Addendum - Sound Economics?

Posted on Oct 9th, 2008 by peter : ______ peter
A recent movie called Zeitgeist: Addendum introduces a concept called Resource-Based Economy from The Venus Project as a replacement to our current fiat based fractional reserve monetary system. The movie raises a lot of questions and observations and I will
address here only a few of them based on the article only.

See the post here.
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The Great Global Warming Swindle

Posted on Sep 29th, 2008 by peter : ______ peter
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Tagged with: co2, global warming, hoax

Save Us from Ourselves

Posted on Sep 24th, 2008 by peter : ______ peter

Our current word mirrors what’s happening inside of us. We make the world as we feel, believe, and think within. There is no need to talk since it’s all in our actions (and lack of them). The show is quite spectacular but at the same time a bit sad, too.

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that one of the most persistent themes in human life is a constant urge to find asylum and comfort elsewhere, even if the whole quest is based on pure illusion of vague ideas or poorly defined concepts that do not make much sense in a closer look. This behavioural pattern can be found in politics, religion, or pretty much in any arena of human life—we want to be rescued from ourselves.

This is rather amusing thought. Someone is afraid of or unable to cope with himself and is looking for pretty much anybody or anything for relief from this horrible condition. If there is demand there is also supply and hence there are always people with bags full of tricks providing cures for the wicked. What makes the scenery a bit confusing is that the helper and the patient typically have the same condition—the deaf is leading the way for the blind, and at the end of the day nothing gets any better.

The formula is very basic and favoured by many con-artists: “You don’t have to do anything yourself I will take care of your troubles and worries. I will fix everything for you without your involvement, rest assured.” The outcome is very predictable like in the case where the firemen are the pyromaniacs in disguise—there will never be a lack of new fires to be extinguished. The mess does not get any cleaner unless the root cause of the matter is tackled and faced. And this does not happen easily since that’s the whole name of the game—dependency and continuity of the status quo, supported by both parties.

No one does anything for nothing so there needs to be a catch, a trade-off. In order for an exchange to happen both parties need to gain something in the trade and have something the other party values. Often the list of wishes is rather short: money, power, control, property, or a combination of these. The game is very straightforward and it keeps going on until the patient has run out of assets that interest the helper. The point is not to face the mirror and see the bogeyman but to keep the good stuff flowing as long as possible. Who would like to wake up the client if it causes to end the long-term relationship of mutual co-dependency? And for the client the existing state of affairs is often many times more tolerable than any potential changes to the unknown—no matter how harsh or twisted the current reality is.

In essence this mutual inertia is the core why human life spins the same wheels thousands of years without much change but in appearances and non-essential surroundings such as technology development and sophistication. We yell for help and at the same time some of us provide the momentarily relief for the rest, more or less knowingly that it is all based on pure illusion, self-betrayal, and personal gain. The stronger tends to exploit the weak while the weak is too ignorant to care about the consequences and supports the exploitation since they do not know anything better—there has always been someone else that saves them from themselves and takes care of the hardest of all works: thinking and self-development.

No one remembers anymore how to be self-reliant. Be strong and independent, stand on one’s own two feet and be at peace with oneself and the world. Interact and communicate with the world but without participating in the victim game of need and lack. That’s something the weak will never know and only the strong can tell, if there were any of them left to show the way for the others.

Source

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What’s Wrong with Us (and the World)?

Posted on Sep 11th, 2008 by peter : ______ peter

Human mind is quick to lay judgment and find external parties to blame. There always needs to be someone or something to take the guilt of any undesired action or circumstance. It does not even matter whether the actual claim has anything to do with the reality. The purpose is to move on and get over with the matter, as fast as possible—even false identification is more important than any uncertainty or ambiguity of the possible cause. The source of all the discomfort seems to be always anywhere but in the mind of the observant.

This works similarly in the collective level. Abstract words such as nation, community, political party, nationality, profession, or whatever imaginable descriptive term that combines several individuals by some common nominator(s) are used to simplify and polarise, categorise and divide. The idea is to unify and make individual units alike that can be counted like beans in a basket: they can be added or subtracted, multiplied or divided, even replaced if necessary. This ‘collective’ becomes a breathing unit that is responsible for its ‘actions’ and hence can be blamed for its outcomes. Collective punishments are justified in this manner.

Despite of the multitude of abstractions in use they do nothing in themselves. No country wages a war against any other country. No government confiscates private wealth. Similarly no political party gets anyone elected. The words we are commonly using have a life of their own. They are no more treated as pointers or descriptive terms that make communication of the underlying issues easier and more efficient but nothing more. Today the abstractions are more important than the individuals that are referred to by these terms. Abstractions are a way to camouflage and disassociate what is really meant by using the terminology.

Words do not hurt anyone. Nobody takes a mad man seriously no matter what comes out of his mouth. It is always the receiver, the listener, who interprets and makes the value judgement whether to react and how, if at all. Words become important and significant when they are taken seriously and considered to mean something. Still, we regard words as something very precise and accurate when in the most of the cases they are not. Even tangible objects cannot be communicated without ambiguity or a large margin of error—more words are required just to describe better the item in question in order to make sure that it is understood as intended by the sender.

Abstract ideas are even worse. Often they cannot be described in a way that is acceptable, understandable, or even comprehended by the listeners at all. It is simply assumed that everybody knows what the term means and it is perceived in a manner the sender intends it. Ideas are based on assumptions and certain beliefs, and they are typically built on top of a mental construct that is mostly not self-evident.
Someone using an abstract term does not necessarily mean that she has any idea what she is talking about. Often it is impossible to find even a handful of individuals who share the same definition of an idea or abstract concept. Nevertheless, they are used like precision tools that are razor sharp and exactly to the point. And they are taken seriously.

Still, abstractions are just a tool we use for something that has been deteriorating for a long time. The fundamental question is not so much what’s wrong with others but what’s wrong with us. “We” is always someone else’s “others” so altogether there is no one else to blame but us, the humans. Labels do not change the reality no matter how nice or bad words we use, neither they change the actions taken—they are still with the persons who carry them out and cannot be undone. Words and perceptions can be spun and distorted but they do not change the truth—it stays even when no one is ready to acknowledge it. Ultimately words are irrelevant and only the actions remain.

We have lost the substance, the actions, and are only interested of the words. This is reflected all around in every sector of our society. We use a concept called money but our central banks do not even provide a definition for something they have a sole monopoly. In the past there needed to be more than words in pieces of paper that were created at a whim of the producer—the paper itself was not of value like a valet coupon. Now we are happy to use colourful papers that are just that, mere words backed by nothing but the public’s trust on them and a threat of violence to protect the cartel. There is no more private property—only various degrees of control. Our legal system is a joke that does not protect each individual equally and fairly in front of the law. Justice is something that has lost its meaning. Laws are written and interpreted by those who are in power and dependent on or benefit from the system. Law enforcement favours the large interests and mainly protects the government from the people. Objectivity and fairness cannot be mentioned in the same sentence with equality when laws are written to benefit some persons at the expense of others.

The emperor has no clothes in so many fields that we don’t even recognise the ludicrousness of the situation anymore. It has become the status quo and accepted new normality. This deterioration happens gradually, over many decades and centuries. Without fundamental questions and strong individuals still believing in the power of their own mind and reasoning the downfall turns into a freefall that can be very shocking when the inevitable truth starts to loom behind the decorative words. The crash is harder the later the reality is acknowledged. Movement of time is no proof for advancement of any society. Higher sophistication in stupidity and brutality do not change their very basic nature even though they may be tolerated better thanks to over-extended exposure to them. Is there anything more arrogant than those who claim to be civilised?

We have lost our ethics and moral. They are not seen in our actions—we merely talk about them. Or should we define our ethics by our actions? Words are useless but our actions never lie. We support financially and by our every day actions killing, murdering, stealing, violence, and coercion. These activities are not just directed towards other species but most of all exercised against other human beings. They are always conducted by someone, an individual person, never by any abstraction or collective concept. Still, in most of the cases we don’t consider anything wrong or hypocritical in these actions and thus they are tolerated or even encouraged. Killing, murdering, stealing, violence, and coercion against individuals are acceptable when the scheme is large enough, for the greater good, or specially approved by an abstract body.

You are not allowed to steal from your neighbour except when using a taxman or legislation. Murdering people is wrong except when you have a strong economical interest or other justifiable cause backed by your government. Coercion is not acceptable unless you are a bureaucrat. In that case you are not responsible of your very actions as a human being—you turn into a mechanical robot without consciousness and moral. The list is almost endless and we all are part of these activities against each other.

This madness does not stop until we recognise and acknowledge each other as human beings. Currently we are waging war against everyone else financially, psychologically, socially, and physically. We use various tools and means for our bidding but it does not matter how much we spin the words the reality does not change—only individuals do the acts. Nothing will change unless we change ourselves. Our society and world is only the reflection of human consciousness and ethics. Any society that does not respect individuals and lay their foundation on individual freedom, respect, responsibility, and equality is doomed to fail in the long run. Only strong independent individuals can support each other and thus form the society. There is no society without persons. Externally imposed morality, rules, controls, and restrictions are doomed to achieve their purpose unless it is to suppress and subdue individuals as obedient servants that act like sheep ruled by a small elite. So far we have found many volunteers for both roles as victims and masters. The play will not change unless the individual actors start to act differently and stop blaming each other for the lousy script they have written themselves. There is nothing wrong with the world but maybe little something with our values?

Source

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Article featured in Australian Magazine

Posted on Sep 3rd, 2008 by peter : ______ peter

No Limits -magazine’s August/September 2008 (Issue 2) features my article “Planning” in pages 42-43. Check it out!

You can also read the article online here.

No Limits issue2


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Tagged with: No Limits, magazine

What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom?

Posted on Jul 2nd, 2008 by peter : ______ peter
This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for July 02, 2008:

"The wise are not learned, the learned are not wise."—Lao Tze.

A wise person may not have much knowledge but a knowledgeable person is not wise. Wisdom is something that is intuitive—firsthand experience. Knowledge is based on words and descriptions. Knowledge can be acquired, shared, developed further, and transferred. Knowledge is not the same as wisdom. Wisdom requires insight and this "eureka!" cannot be taught by others. We can only help others on the road by explaining and sharing some knowledge about the wisdom.

We can convert wisdom into knowledge but this does not mean that the essence of the wisdom can be converted as well. It can only be described and illustrated with various symbols,
anecdotes, and metaphors. Describing and telling about the road is not the road itself.

Often we want to gain more knowledge. We feel that we are lacking something and by acquiring some more knowledge we can get rid of our shortcomings. This is the pattern our thinking and behavior take. We need to attend a seminar, listen to a guru, or read a book. How many times do we stop to think and consider what we are really lacking and what the purpose of this knowledge "filling" is before we actually do anything? Because if we want to get better at something, then we should also make sure that we really gain the wisdom at the end of the knowledge acquisition. Otherwise, the whole exercise would be time wasted from the wisdom point of view.

How do we distinguish whether we have actually learned anything by acquiring more knowledge? Because wisdom requires insight this means that it is also reflected in our
behavior and actions. Knowledge is converted to wisdom only if we are acting differently after getting the knowledge. This might sound more complicated than it really is. We can have
a complete theoretical knowledge of how to drive a car but this does not mean that we can drive a car. Knowing the function of all driving instruments and traffic rules does not make us excellent drivers. We have to turn the knowledge into behavioral patterns and actions that are observable. Knowledge is easy to get but wisdom is a rare art.

Wisdom requires active participation and action. Learning can be done passively. It is harder to create a theory than describe one that is already formulated. We have a habit of learning more knowledge. The underlying assumption is that this knowledge is converted into wisdom as well.
Unfortunately, the outcome is very often the opposite. The knowledge acquisition is our own illusion we so dutifully repeat time after time. We feel important and that we are doing something very meaningful and significant by learning something. For us, doing is often more important than the actual results. This is the unfortunate conclusion we must draw by observing the world around us. We love our illusion of knowledge and ignore the most important thing—the real deeds and outcomes.

(Taken from my book Fragments of Reality)
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Tagged with: QaR, life, wisdom, knowledge, wise

Social Welfare

Posted on Jun 14th, 2008 by peter : ______ peter
Can government increase social welfare and what are the implications of its actions to the society?

Download and read the essay (a pdf-file).
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Some Positive Developments

Posted on May 11th, 2008 by peter : ______ peter
Pakistan's leading English language newspaper published a two-page interview on their Easter Sunday issue written by Ramla Akhtar (she's in Gaia too). Check out the article.

Here's how it starts:

One day, a man who signed as ‘/p’ left a comment on my blog at Gaia.com — a transformation community. I had shared my feeling of exhaustion; how I just wanted to not just give away, but also replenish my own energy. He pointed me to a book he’d written, called Fragments of Reality [FOR], which had a chapter on what we feel we ‘have to do’ as opposed to what we ‘can do.’ The difference is one between a burdensome compulsion, and an unconditional happiness. Acting on the chapter’s advice, I divided my life’s projects into ‘can do’ and ‘have to’ and cut off the latter. What a relief!

I made friends with that man, Peter Cajander. Then I read his book chapter to chapter. I marked it, pencilled my reflections in, and undertook its practices.

It’s an unassuming book. It didn’t try to direct me; yet it reinforced my life decisions from within. The book’s wisdom is based on Peter’s insights into the universal, which makes it accessible to anyone.

This is a conversation about the book, the writer’s process, and his insights. The questions are deliberate: they are asked from the level of ‘the initiate’. It is an early stage when one is seeking a pre-supposed gratification from wisdom, such as ‘How can it make me more money? Be more attractive? Seduce more partners?’ Some of the most profound advice is lost on ears because the seeker is only looking for pre-defined answers, thus focusing on what they want and missing what they are getting. Are we failing to get answers because our questions are flawed? This conversation speaks to those who may realise that it is indeed the question that needs re-framing.

Ramla Akhtar: Who is Peter Cajander?

Peter Cajander: Peter Cajander is your conceptual image based on your perception, information, and knowledge you have. It is your ‘mental’ impression that mostly reflects your own past experience and history. Each and everyone has a different ‘understanding’ of Peter Cajander. And none of them is truer than any other—they are just subjective interpretations. So, Peter Cajander is not what you think.

RA: What is reality?

PC: It is whatever you perceive it is. That is your reality, but don’t expect anybody else to underwrite you definition. There is no absolute or objective yardstick for reality. Or to say it differently in a word: energy.

RA: Reading through FOR, one feels as if the mind is more an impediment than the wonderful tool we thought it to be. What good is the mind after all?

PC: Not much. It’s a good servant but a poor master. Would you rather prefer to have peace of mind and silence? Or constant rambling almost 24/7 without a way to quiet it down? Won’t you rather use the mind only when you specifically need it? Mind is useful when you need to think something, i.e. find a logical solution or plan something. Otherwise it should be mute and not act like a radio gone bizarre by jumping from station to station non-stop. If you observe your own private radio it only plays something from the history channel (your past) or from the sci-fi channel (the future that has not happened). Mind is never here, right now, present.

Read the rest...
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