Tune in, turn on, and drop out

Hmmmm, i just noticed this thread. It's late and i probably won't do justice to my thoughts on this. Will be train of thought posting so don't accuse me of opinions here.

There are plenty of ways to look at all of this sort of stuff. Firstly though, there are many ways to survive off the main grid, or less on the main grid, and they don't all require communes(or certainly not yoga). The basic point is to NEED LESS. Society has trained us all to need whiter whites, fake body attachments, unnecessary amounts of food, etc etc ad infinitum. By needing less, you free more Time for yourself to pursue your bliss. This is naturally more difficult with children, especially due to societal judgement of lifestyles, but should be a goal. By needing less, you've already dropped out to a certain extent. Needing less can be done from within or without society. Although when one is "in" society and has more available money, there are more temptations of useless crap one might suddenly "need".

By needing less, one can therefore work less to supply ones needs. The benefit of a commune, bus crew, Family, is that the more people work to achieve a shared need, the burden on each becomes less. It's the same basic theory Henry Ford had which created production lines and made the American worker more efficient. Where our society goes wrong is that extra efficiency is then used to benefit the owner/manager/ceo at the expense of the worker. Instead of increased efficiency meaning less work being necessary, it came to mean more rich people and more poor "working class" people(an insult if ever there was one). The elites of the world do not wish for society/people to be able to have recreation Time/Time for bliss/play/enlightenment, they instead want a workforce to bring them greater wealth. By needing less, you buy less and you refuse to supply the profits(with which they buy political influence) to the rich/oligarchy.

In an ideal or sane society, increases in worker efficiency would mean less work, more bliss. In our modern world it means less pay, less choices and a steady stream of propoganda trying to convince you that you need more shiny stuff.

On a most basic level, our basic needs are usually described as "food, clothing, shelter". The clothing and shelter "needs" are both debatable in my view, and all three "needs" are commonly overneeded, to where we think we "need" 20 pairs of shoes, fresh clothes every day, mascara, new cars, daily caffeine and chocolate, opulent/oversized homes etc. By not falling for the scam of needing all the extras of the basics, you have dropped out a bit from society. If you choose a humble home, homemade or locally made(hemp) clothes, eat a basic simple diet(eating less is good for you) without all the prepackaged crap and cook for yourself, again you are falling further from the role society has approved for you. If taken to an extreme, as happens with some of us, then the $$ necessary for needs becomes much less and the Time required to meet those needs again is freed for other pursuits. When less $$ is "needed", then it opens the door to alternative ways of coming up with that money, such as occasional work instead of a "job", making and selling ones own products, vending on "tour", recycling, etc(in daylight i could make a better list).

And i guess i end there... i'd like to address the issue of working inside/outside society as well so hope i remember to look in the hippie threads again(usually just check Rainbow). These are incomplete thoughts but hopefully useful.

 

Consciousness has been increasing for a while now. I too take LSD and mushrooms, and for a while I found myself reinventing the wheel - discovering things on my own that I later realized philosophers and teachers from McKenna to Emerson to Freud had already researched extensively. I don't think you NEED LSD to increase your consciousness and realize your oneness with the universe; it is, nevertheless, a great way for people who have grown up in a society that stifles natural instinct and true spirituality to "find themselves," and then perhaps choose to drop out.

Personally, I find myself more inclined to "fight the system" by teaching awareness. Everywhere, people are awakening. Yesterday I had dinner with a young catholic priest who is a brilliant and well-educated man. He has been reading the work of Eckhart Tolle and other modern philosophers, and he was struck by how very alike each religion is ... and how unwilling members of the different groups are to admit it.

The world, particularly in America, needs more teachers and thinkers. I'm not saying I don't think you should live on a commune ... I have often considered doing so myself. I simply think that if you have knowledge that the world is lacking, the best thing you can do is teach as many people as you can what you know, hopefully inspiring at least a few others to find new knowledge and continue to spread awareness.

...What a great gift George Bush has been to humankind. A man so blatantly corrupt in such a position of authority can only increase awareness when people find themselves asking WHY.

Wake up, world.

 

It really is easy to function outside of this society. Just look at the rest of the world They seem to still be alive, kicking, and still making babies!

So if you want to drop out, than just do it and don't worry about any so-called "consequences"