The Eco-Spiritual Communities of Gitagrad -
Demonstrating the future happy and sustainable way of life based on the Bhagavad-gita and Spiritual Economics
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
A Step in the Right Direction
Today
I accidentally re-discovered the Slow Money movement. Perhaps you have
heard of the slow food movement that originated (I believe) in Italy as a
sort of reaction/protest to the fast-food way of eating. Of course
Italy is perhaps the setting and background where graceful dining
and leisurely gourmet meals would be valued. In any case it may be that
slow food spawned the idea of slow money. I don't know; I'm just
speculating here.
Regardless,
the slow money movement is the idea that perhaps money doesn't have to
return as much as possible in as short a time as possible. The idea that
perhaps a reasonable return on money invested in local business, and
particularly farms and wholesome, healthy food production, is a great
idea, and one that can do much to give us both good food, and local
social security. People helping each other for the reason that it ought
to be done, and even more important than the idea of producing a great
profit. Nice!
What
do we see in this formula that is absent from Wall Street? Sattva-guna -
the influence of the material quality of goodness, with the result that
people and the world are uplifted. And what is missing in this approach
that is present in Wall Street? Tamo-guna - the destructive influence
of the material quality of ignorance. This is what we might call the
green shoots of the rising of consciousness. Just as in spring we first
see the shoots of daffodils and realize that winter is now behind us,
such green shoots of higher consciousness are an indication that the
pervasive and oppressive modes of passion and ignorance are lifting.
Sort of a spring of consciousness!
Slow money promotes the idea that money should work for people instead of people working for money. Particularly slow money focuses on healthy food production, a most valuable treasure that is being lost in a world where a handful of mega-companies produce the majority of food that people eat, and where profits are more important than quality.
In order to enhance food
security, food safety and food access; improve nutrition and health;
promote cultural, ecological and economic diversity; and accelerate the
transition from an economy based on extraction and consumption to an
economy based on preservation and restoration, we do hereby affirm the
following Slow Money Principles:
I. We must bring money back down to earth.
II.
There is such a thing as money that is too fast, companies that are
too big, finance that is too complex. Therefore, we must slow our
money down -- not all of it, of course, but enough to matter.
III.
The 20th Century was the era of Buy Low/Sell High and Wealth
Now/Philanthropy Later—what one venture capitalist called “the largest
legal accumulation of wealth in history.” The 21st Century will be
the era of nurture capital, built around principles of carrying
capacity, care of the commons, sense of place and non-violence.
IV.
We must learn to invest as if food, farms and fertility mattered. We
must connect investors to the places where they live, creating vital
relationships and new sources of capital for small food enterprises.
V.
Let us celebrate the new generation of entrepreneurs, consumers and
investors who are showing the way from Making A Killing to Making a
Living.
VI. Paul Newman
said, "I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like
the farmer who puts back into the soil what he takes out."
Recognizing the wisdom of these words, let us begin rebuilding our
economy from the ground up, asking:
What would the world be like if we invested 50% of our assets within 50 miles of where we live?
What if there were a new generation of companies that gave away 50% of their profits?
What if there were 50% more organic matter in our soil 50 years from now?
"We don't need any more big ideas. We
need small ideas. Beautiful ideas. Beautiful because they lead to a
large number of beautiful, small actions, the kind alluded to by Wendell
Berry: 'Soil is not usually lost in slab or heaps of magnificent
tonnage. It is lost a little at a time over millions of acres by
careless acts of millions of people. It cannot be solved by heroic feats
of gigantic technology, but only by millions of small acts and
restraints.'"
In this
short video he explains some more of the particulars of slow money, and
there are a number of other videos explaining the whys and wherefores
on YouTube, and of course have a look at the slow money website.
I
ask why not free ourselves from the restrictions of money altogether?
Why do we want to work within the confines of a system that is
inherently flawed? Perhaps is too big a step for most people to take at
once, so slow money is a step in the right direction. The time of
Spiritual Economics may not be here just yet, but as concepts such as slow money develop they pave the way for the freedom of Spiritual Economics.
Welcome to our Gitagrad blog where we write about all issues surrounding our Gitagrad settlements. Gitagrad means the place where the Bhagavad-gita is lived, and under the banner of Gitagrad are several intentional, ecologically and spiritually sound communities following these principles. We eschew many modern ideas such as consumerism and unlimited profits. We are interested in God, people, children, happiness, and spiritual progress. We hope you find this blog inspiring. Please subscribe!
To contact us, write to: gitagrad (at) gmail (dot) com.
The biggest challenge to self-sufficiency is raising the money to become self-sufficient. It is obviously impossible to become self-sufficient by having a job to make money to become self-sufficient. Few people have such success that they can finance their own self-sufficiency. And, the danger of that route is that the successful person may abandon the idea of self-sufficiency all together - after all, they have money!
The best way to achieve the goal of creating a culture of self-sufficiency is the combined efforts of many people who recognize the value of developing an alternative culture. Some will give their lives, others will donate some time or expertise, and yet others can offer much needed funds. Whatever you want to contribute we are happy to receive.
Please follow the link to become one of our Partners-for-Life.
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