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Are You Living in the Real World?

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Signs of Hope for the Economy
Concerns Over the Health of the Economy
The Economy is Down Today
How to Cope With the Economy
Hope for an Economic Recovery
The Economy in Depression
The Economy in Recession
The Health of the Economy in 2010
Economic Crisis

You’ve heard all of it. Haven’t you? I hear it. Every single day I read another headline about the “state of the economy” and every single day it makes me sick. Human beings treating the economy like it is a living thing, a necessary thing, a crucial thing for our survival.

Well, here is a wake-up call for you: The economy is not a living thing. It can not be depressed, sick, healthy, or any other thing. It is an idea, a lie, meant to rope you in, hold you hostage, and rape you of the truth.

The economy is based on money. Money is made of paper, man-made paper. Guess what? If you were to walk out out into the wilderness tomorrow, entirely away from civilization, you will have certain needs that will need to be met. And none of those needs will involve small pieces of paper bearing the faces of “important” political figureheads. What you will need is water, oxygen, food, and sunlight. That is the real world. That is the truth.

Every time I walk through the forest, I get a strange sensation. As I pass through the trees and over the Earth; as I smell the woody scent of dirt, bark, leaf, water; I get a sense of vertigo. I point it out to my partner many times, “This is surreal,” I say. His response to me is always the same, “No. This is real. The world from which we’ve come — of buildings, electricity, paper money, McDonald’s, television — that is the surreal world, the fake world.” And that is the entire truth.

Somehow we have lost sight of this truth. We are so caught up in the surreal world that has been created around us, by us, for us; that we no longer recognize the real world. Most people would be completely helpless in the real world. If all of our technologies, our comforts, our conveniences were suddenly taken away, could you survive? Would you want to?

Yes, we are a highly evolved species, human beings, and our technologies are a great achievement. But at what cost have they come to us? We have no regard for the Earth, like a plague we destroy it and most people do not care. We are overwhelmed by the voices of the media, the advertisers, the famous, and the politicians — and tragically we no longer recognize the most important voices — the voice of the Earth and the voice of ourselves.

Evolution is about self improvement, living your best life, overcoming fear & anxiety; but in order to do any of those things you must first recognize the truth about the world in which you live. Whenever someone tells you to, “Wake up and join the real world,” (or even if you say it to yourself) think first about what the real world actually means.

We need to begin focusing on the conservation of the Earth. We need to become more in tune with the voices of nature. This is a crucial element of conscious living.

I encourage you to take a hard look at your definition of reality. Ask yourself these questions:

  • Do you make an effort to aware & concerned about the Earth on which you live?

  • Do you do things & believe things because the media/advertisers/politicians tell you to?

  • Are you familiar with nature & comfortable without all of our modern conveniences?

  • Are you dependent on the surreal world of technology, fast food, and paparazzi?

  • Have you defined your core values & are they aligned with your beliefs about the world around you?

This is extremely important food for thought, in a world where we hear so much about the state of the financial economy; yet we hear little or nothing about the state of our natural, true world. If we do not take care of this Earth, we will destroy it and then there will be no economy to have to worry about at all.

I believe that if each of us would begin to re-focus our values and focus on the truth, that we could change this world around. We could revitalize the Earth and once again be aligned with the true and natural world. There is constant opportunity to make a difference. We must seek out those opportunities, take hold of them, and create positive change — both in the world around us and in our own personal lives.

What will you do to make the Earth better place? What mark will you leave behind you when you are gone?

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    Let Go of Your Goals & Unleash Your Dreams

    Dreams are Just as Important as Goals

    I’ve written quite a bit about setting & accomplishing goals; overcoming fears; and making the best out of difficult situations. But what I haven’t written enough about is flat out—unleashing your dreams.

    Goal setting is a very mathematical process. It goes something like this: Define your goal. Map out the steps necessary to achieve it. Research, develop, act. Work until you get there. This is great, it makes sense, it gets things done. However, goals are full of limitations. In order to accomplish Z, first I need to do X and Y. If I want to be in this place by this date, then I’ve got to accomplish X, Y, and Z by this date. And so on and so forth it goes. We plan and work and strive.

    Yes, goal-setting & goal accomplishment are crucial elements to success; but sometimes we have to just let go of our goals and start unleashing our dreams! Throw caution to the wind and go for it. But how?, you ask. Well, you start by defining your dreams & broadcasting them to the world. Today I am going to define my wildest dreams & share them with you.

    “Achieving life is not the equivalent of avoiding death.” –Ayn Rand

    Why Are We Afraid to Expose Our Dreams?

    To be honest, I am a bit nervous about this. I feel like I am exposing a part of myself that I’ve kept hidden. When you keep your wildest dreams to yourself, you’re safe. If no one knows what you want, then no one can hold you accountable. For example, if your best friend has no idea that you dream of moving to Costa Rica to collect butterflies in the rain forest—then she isn’t going to check in with you once a month and ask where you’re at. If you’re father doesn’t know that you dream of quitting your job to build collectible trains and sell them on Ebay—then he isn’t going to be hounding you with questions about it at the holidays. And when you are not faced with those questions you are safe. Your dreams can stay on the back burner while your life passes you by. You are not held accountable. You don’t experience pressure. But, my friend, today is the day that you must realize something critical: It is pressure that makes diamonds!

    Broadcast Your Desires to the Universe

    Steve Pavlina recently wrote a post called Broadcast Your Desires. In the post, he explains why broadcasting our desires & dreams to the world is the best way to make them a reality. If you can’t broadcast your desires, it’s fair to say that you don’t own them yet. In order to make your desires become real, you’ve got to speak up about them. If you’re going to receive them, then let it be known. If you find it necessary to hide what you desire, that suggests you aren’t ready to receive.

    Well, I am ready to receive! I hope that by taking this step in my own life, I will inspire you to take it in your own. Here I go…!

    My Dreams

    1. Grow evolution you
    I want to take this blog to great heights, attract thousands of readers, inspire people around the world. I want to monetize it so that I can devote myself to improving people’s lives full-time. And as a result, I want to become location independent so that I can travel the world, spreading love & light where ever I go.

    2. Write a book
    I haven’t quite worked out the details of this one yet—it’s a bit ever-evolving. I’ll pin it down soon enough, for now I am just dreaming wildly!

    3. Travel to the Great Pyramids in Egypt
    I feel intimately connected to the people of ancient Egypt. Perhaps it is the beautiful & mysterious way that Ancient Egypt is depicted in films & literature, whatever the cause, the very idea of it thrills me. I have long dreamed of visiting & exploring the ancient pyramids for myself.

    4. Learn to speak French

    5. Spend time living & working in Europe
    Italy, France, and Belgium all seem such lovely places to me. I’d like to spend at least a few months in each place.

    6. Safari in Africa
    This is the only dream on the list that I already accomplished. In the Summer of 2006 I studied abroad in Kenya, studying, on safari, and touring. It was a truly incredible experience and I’ll be making a post about it soon.

    7. Live in the wilderness
    I am insanely attracted to nature. In fact, I am quite convinced that I am a tigress/she-wolf/mermaid trapped in the body of a human woman. I feel most at home in nature—in the mountains, near the sea, anywhere wild. I’ve long dreamed of escaping the civilization circa Into the Wild. It would certainly not be a permanent thing; but I’d love to experience it at least for a few weeks to see how long I’d last.

    8. Have or adopt a baby
    Last February my sister gave birth to me beautiful Godson, Brian. Ever since then, I’ve heard the ticking of my own biological clock a tad louder than before. I am not in any rush, as you can see I’ve got a lot I want to do before I am quite ready to “settle down” but it is definitely an enormous dream of mine, some day.

    9. Spend time on a Native American reservation
    I’d like to spend some time living or at least working/volunteering on a reservation. I am passionate about Native American culture and it would be a great honor to serve the Native American people in some capacity and to learn first-hand their cultures, traditions, and needs.

    10. Serve on the Board of Directors for a prominent wildlife conservation foundation

    11. Visit a Buddhist monastery in Tibet

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    These are not all of my dreams, not nearly, but the list could go on and on. For now, these are the ones that I am working toward—in the near & distant—future. It was not nearly as difficult to share them as I thought it would be! This list will be ever-evolving and I will update it as my dreams are accomplished and as they change.

    Alright, I did my part. Now it’s your turn! I would love to hear about your big dreams in the comments or if you make your own big dream post please let me know about it.

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    My Journey to Financial Freedom | Part 2: The Climb

    Emergency Fund

    Three years ago, I was nearly $60,000 in debt. I had a Bachelor’s degree that didn’t appear to be worth its weight in salt and a job that couldn’t cover a fraction of my monthly bills. I was terrified.

    Today, I am closer to complete financial freedom than I ever dreamed possible. Last week, I paid off my last remaining credit card balance. This two-part post is a celebration of this incredible milestone in my journey.

    In part one, I explained how I got to that terrible place. In part two, I will explain how I’m getting out of it (and how you can do it, too).

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    1. Change the way you think about spending money. For most of my life, I believed that money was made to be spent. I believed that I *deserved* to spend every dollar that I earned on some material thing that would “make me happy.” I coveted material possessions—clothes, jewelry, electronics, cars. What I realize now is that money is not meant to be spent. You only need to earn enough money to survive. You should have enough money to buy only what you need. There is no need for excess.

    “You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your fuc*ing khakis.” (Fight Club)

    This shift in mindset is hard to adjust to at first. You may not like the reactions that you receive from people. Believe me, I’ve been called cheap a few times, but I pay no mind to it. I would choose cheap over poor any day.

    2. Keep a budget. I highly recommend using Mint.com. I started using it in September and it has been one of the most transformational and useful tools throughout my journey to financial freedom. It allows you to sync up all of your accounts (loans, checking, savings, etc.) in one place. Then it keeps track of every transaction that you make and sorts/organizes all of the data for you. It allows you to track your spending over time and by category. It gives you incredible perspective and insight about where your money goes each month/year. It has been a truly eye-opening experience for me.

    If you’re unwilling to try Mint, you can keep a budget on a spread sheet or even by hand. However, the important thing is to be completely conscious about where every dollar you spend is going.

    3. Use a debit card. To reap the full Mint.com experience you should use a debit card for every purchase you make. Using the debit card will automatically flag each transaction you make into the appropriate category. So if you go to Shoprite, it will get marked as groceries. If you go to Home Depot it will get marked as home. If you stop at the gas station it will get marked as automobile, and so on.

    I use my debit card (linked to my checking account) for almost every single transaction that I make. I also have all of my monthly bills (like my auto insurance, utilities, and gym membership) automatically debited from the same checking account each month. It makes keeping track of my spending that much easier. Plus, I do not like dealing with cash. The debit card is quick, easy, and is accepted almost everywhere now.

    Whether or not you use Mint.com it is a good idea to use a debit card simply because you can review all of your purchases and purchase amounts on your monthly statement. Trying to keep track of receipts is a hassle that I don’t have time for.

    4. Pay off credit cards and cut them up. Paying off my credit cards was my first priority. For awhile I tried “credit card surfing.” Let me just tell you from experience, it’s overrated and it really doesn’t work. The idea is that you surf from credit card to credit card by transferring balances. A lot of companies will give you 0% APR for 6 months if you transfer your balances over to them. After the 6 months, you “surf” to a new card with another promotional rate.

    The problem with this tactic is that it gets messy quickly, it becomes difficult to keep up with, and if you lose track you will end up getting burned by high APRs, finance fees, cancellation fees, etc. Also, it probably doesn’t look great on your credit report if you’re opening up a new card every 6 months or so.

    It is much safer and wiser to just stop using credit cards! My theory is simple and has taken me very far: If you can not afford to buy it, then you can not afford it. Period. It is simple logic.

    5. Eat in. This is one of the easiest changes to make, but it also comes with an enormous, positive impact. When I started closely tracking my spending habits, I was shocked to see how much I was spending on eating out. A meal at a decent restaurant goes for about $25 per person. If you eat out twice a week, that is $3,120 a year. If you grab lunch out during the work week, it’s about $8 a day. That’s $2,080 a year. Put those together and you could be spending $5,200 a year or more on dining out! That is outrageous and completely unnecessary.

    Since I started eating in and packing lunches, I’ve taken my monthly food spending from $500 down to $200 or less! Over time, that means enormous savings. Check out 5dollardinners.com for some awesome, inexpensive recipes. I love it! Also, investing in a crock pot was one of the wisest decisions I ever made—chili, sausage & peppers, and goulash will be your new (delicious, cheap) best friends. (Here are some more tips for eating healthy & mindfully.)

    6. Direct deposit money into savings every month. This is my final—and perhaps most important—tip. When I began my journey to financial freedom, I opened a savings account with ING Direct. It is an easy-to-use online savings account and it gives you interest on the money that you save. It also allows you to set up easy direct deposits.

    I started out small, depositing $50 a month into my savings. As I learned to keep my budget tighter and tighter, I increased the amount that I put into my savings each month. Currently, I am putting away $500+ per month and hope to get closer to $1,000 per month in the very near future.

    When you direct deposit the funds, it comes out automatically. It is painless because you don’t have to do a thing. Because it’s automatic, after awhile you don’t even notice that it’s missing. (I remember reading that on another blog several months ago and thinking, “Are you out of your mind?! I’m not going to miss it? Yea right!”) But I can honestly say that after a few months, you adjust to the missing money. You truly do not miss it once it becomes normal for that amount to be deposited into savings automatically each month.

    It has been one of the best decisions that I’ve made and because I’ve worked so hard to get to this place—I don’t touch that money! I am keeping it there for a rainy day or to pay off my student loans someday in one fell swoop.

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    As I stated at the start of this post, three years ago I was almost $60,000 in debt; I was twenty-three years old; and I was scared to death. Today, I have my finances under control! I am on the road to financial freedom and you can get here, too. Truly, it is not as hard as it seems. With common sense and a bit of dedication, it will happen. Paying off my last credit card balance was like taking chains off of my wrists for the first time in seven years. The feeling was completely priceless. If I can do it, anybody can.

    So, what are your financial goals? Have you ever been in financial prison? How did you free yourself? If you’re still there, what are you going to do to break free?

5 Comments

  1. Hi Dena,

    We create our own reality. Everything is neutral state – energy – and we determine what it means to us. You make great points in this area.

    I haven't watched the news for 4 years. If big events arise I'll hear about them. I've decided to do more of my own thinking. When I don't do my own thinking I receive a red flag right away: I feel bad.

    Free thinkers who the masses think are out of their mind are in their mind and most people are out of their mind. That is, they let appearances – things occuring out of their mind – rule their thinking. Those in their mind ignore appearances and create their own reality. That's why it feels so good to walk through nature. Nature is the Truth. It's God's creation, and more than anything else nature keeps us in our minds. Everything in nature is pure and it's a lot tougher to judge something pure and inherently Perfect than it is to judge man-made drama.

    It feels good to be in your own world, doesn't it 😉

    Ryan

    Reply

  2. @Ryan – Wow, thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. I love it! We create our own reality. Yes!

    The man-made drama that you speak of is the killer of the Truth — an unnecessary tragedy. I believe that there are some people left, seekers of truth & light; but we are the minority. We must stay strong, share our knowledge, and hold tight to hope.

    I am so glad that you have shared your thoughts! It means the world to me.

    Reply

  3. Free thinkers unite! And I agree with Ryan there too. Turning off the TV has been absolutely brilliant!

    I've just finished watching a brilliant doco that pointed out that 'people' used to gather on Sunday's for a refresher of their value systems and how to live, now we've substituted that for media, TV and newspaper. We're driven by consumerism and materialism.

    From this, we've got about 2 or 3 generations left before the whole world is going to be well and truly f#cked!

    The easiest and point blank stupidest example for me, as I'm sitting here on a sweltering 41 degree C Perth day, people living in houses with no eaves, shiny black roofs absorbing heat, not a care in the world and their air conditioners on at full blast. Consuming consuming consuming.

    It'd be nice if something like recycling, re-using household grey water or living more organically came into 'fashion', atleast for a year or two!

    We need a giant shift in attitudes.

    Reply

  4. @Andrew – I could not have said it better myself. I came across this article: http://short.to/13j7d today on Twitter, and it really made me want to cry!

    The values of the human race are so out of whack that you are right. It's sad but true – we don't have much time left to turn this around. Why do we have to wait until it's too late to start making the necessary changes?

    We need a revolution of thought, an enormous shift in attitude & behavior.

    Reply

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