Being a Savage (Blog)

[James81]

Haha, this song keeps coming on the radio....

YouTube - Waiting Outside The Lines - Greyson Chance w/lyrics

[Jonathan Browne]

So Steve, I agree about the system.

Do you have any plans at some point in your life to make an effort to change it?

You know, very few people talk about this, but we are in the middle of a worldwide revolution in thought.

World War III is the worldwide war of ideas and ways of thinking.

The culture of pure reductionist thinking and rejecting anything that can't be cleanly understood by objective experience is beginning to break down.

I'm reading this book right now called "Higher Creativity: Liberating the Unconscious for Breakthrough Insights" and near the end it has a chapter called "A New Copernican Revolution"

Here's some very interesting quotes from it.

"At the most fundamental level, the basic problem of modern society is a crisis of meaning. It underlies the dilemma of those whom society has no meaningful roles - the unemployed and underemployed - as well as the global problems of security, development, and environment.

As a result of the seeming reduction of the workings of our physical and mental universes to a mechanistic model of clockwork and blind chance, experiences such as creative inspiration, illumination, and the unitary experience became disassociated from the religious significance and moral codes traditionally associated with them. The great philosophies and religions that stemmed from such experiences, and that in the past profoundly unfluenced the course of human history, were weakened; and serious exploration of the creative, unconscious processes was discouraged.

One of mankinds most powerful needs is for life to have meaning, to make sense. Severe psychological and physical pathology can follow from failure to sense such meanings in ones life or from the loss or disarrangement of belief systems that help give it, or seem to give it, meaning."

"The behaviors that the institutions of our urbanized, high technology, mass-consumption society focus people toward are less and less congruen t with the ways individuals can find meaning in their lives.

In the absence of consensus on deeper meanings, the decisions made by such a society, which can affect future generations around the world - whether the decisions of governments or of transnational corporations - are made on the disastrous basis of narrowly defined short-term economic or political gains.

Our emerging new understanding of the human mind promises to contribute to a fundamental corrective to this process. The resurgence of interest in meditative disciplines and religious philosophies evinced by the broader society, and interest in research on consciousness spreading through the scientific community reinstates questions of ultimate values and meanings to their central place in human existence. As Nobel laureate neuroscientist Roger Sperry wrote in 1891: 'Social values depend on whether consciousness is believed to be mortal, immortal, reincarnate, or cosmic.. localized and brain bound or essentially universal. Recent conceptual developments in the mind-brain sciences rejecting reductionism and materialistic determinism on the one side, and dualisms on the other, clear the way for a rational approach to the theory and prescription of values and to a natural fusion of science and religion. ' "



It's really clear, if you know what's up, that a new standard of viewing the world is emerging, much like it did with the discovery that the world was not flat and the interestingly ironic ideas of Rene Descartes who developed the foundation of modern rationalism because of a series of four crazy dreams in one night. Of course Descartes didn't see a conflict in this mystical (perhaps divine) inspiration, but it has troubled rationalists ever since.

Now we're at the point where science is beginning to prove that consciousness created the universe rather than the other way around.

But as we see throughout history, the direction of things to come usually depends on a few men who revolutionize thought completely.

So Steve, why not be a leader in that?

I mean, after you create some personal development products and what not to satisfy your fans....

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Browne

Now we're at the point where science is beginning to prove that consciousness created the universe rather than the other way around.

Science can't prove this any more than a dream character in your dream can prove you're dreaming.

If you think you need more scientists to validate your thinking, you can manifest as many as you like.

As for leading the world's transformation, the only transformation you can lead is your own. Do that, and the world comes along for the ride.

[Jonathan Browne]

Well if that is the case, then why are you writing about the negative attributes of "the system"...?

Shouldn't it have already changed right along with you?

Why even bother having a website, making personal development products, or anything of the sort...

If you could just change yourself and everything else would change along with you then their should be no need to do anything externally to try to cause change in others...

Unless the way you look at it is that you are changing your dream characters by typing out manifestos about how they should be.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Browne

Well if that is the case, then why are you writing about the negative attributes of "the system"...?

Shouldn't it have already changed right along with you?

Why even bother having a website, making personal development products, or anything of the sort...

If you could just change yourself and everything else would change along with you then their should be no need to do anything externally to try to cause change in others...

Unless the way you look at it is that you are changing your dream characters by typing out manifestos about how they should be.

[cacheborn]

Fun post. I felt the main purpose was as a wake up call. At least it felt that way to me. It's difficult to get rid of all the garbage that accumulates since a person is born. It's only recently that I am beginning to realize the benefits of free life, without the restraints of job.

Whenever some of my friends ask me, "So what are you doing now a days?", I say, "I am retired and enjoying life doing what interests me most." Most of them cannot get it. How can you be happy when you have no job?

ps : I received this post in my reader 2 days later i. e. today.

[Asten]

Originally Posted by Savage

As for leading the world's transformation, the only transformation you can lead is your own. Do that, and the world comes along for the ride.

Bingo.

[KaleidoskopicVision]

Originally Posted by Savage

I don't think the system as a whole was designed by any one mind. It's a mixture of various interests, one of which is to produce sufficient quantities of skilled workers. People can be more productive as teams if they're taught to think and behave similarly.

The system isn't all bad. It does some good things like teaching large numbers of people how to communicate with each other. That's a rather positive result I'd say.

When I had conflicted feelings about earning money, I was mostly broke and deep in debt. When I realized that I could earn plenty of money by creating value for people, I got over it. Money solves a lot of problems. You just need to find a way to earn it that produces fewer problems than it creates. Some ways of earning money would make your life worse, like forcing you to violate your values.

Personally I think this country is awesome. It obviously has problems, but that means we get to work on some interesting challenges.

Homelessness would be a waste of my time, too gimmicky.

Buddhism is still part of the system. It's just one more philosophy that tells people they're broken (i.e. "you aren't enlightened").

I'm the friend Harmonium was referencing and he showed me this, I just had to give my 2 cents.

A lot of people present Buddhism incorrectly, Steve. This is usually intentional because the whole "you're imperfect here let me fix that for you" model makes the person doing the fixing in a position of power. However that's a totally distorted model of the original teachings, just like the whole we are sinners thing is a distortion of Jesus's teachings. Siddharta Gautama taught that every single being is already enlightened, already is a hidden Buddha, they've just either forgotten or are feigning ignorance for any multitude of reasons infinite in their complexity and apparent truthiness. People came to the Buddha with heavy hearts, miseries and heads full of problems. He didn't work miracles and fix those problems, he reminded the seeker who they really are. The 'real' Buddhist teachers (and I say this with some tongue in cheek, because if you understand the teachings well enough, everyone is a 'real' Buddhist teacher because everyone is a Buddha), teach by trying to remind you of your enlightened nature.

On the contrary it is usually the student who believes they are unenlightened and spreads all this torturous poor little me stuff everywhere, trying to teach others how very very wrong they are and how many prostrations they should do until their bad karma gets washed away and they can enjoy a happy vacation in the Deva realm on their next reincarnation. But being Buddhas we can't help but teach people constantly, though when we do it while trying to pretend we aren't already 'there', it's much like diving under water and shouting at the people above the surface that they appear to have some serious distortions in their auras that need correcting. And there are teachers who walk around trying to enlighten with their teachings by acting as though they are enlightened but they end up much like a lifeguard shouting swimming instructions to a drowning person already halfway to the bottom. The secret is to know when to dive and when to surface, so to speak.

The Zen master keeps hitting his student over the head because he wants the student to shut up and listen to his own nature for once.

To address the whole money thing, I have an interesting point that I'm not sure you considered when you wrote this Steve. It's a point that I admit I'm reluctant to share with most people because they'd call me a loony. I do not fear such things here

Money and gaining possessions, having hobbies, jobs and all that sort of thing could be a distraction toward exploring aspects of human nature that don't relate to the world in such a 'physical' way. Human flight, telekinesis, that sort of thing. Just think, how much easier and exciting life would be with such abilities! My concern is that busying myself with the acquisition of money and finding a life passion limited to that rather narrow spectrum of survival might detract from the exploration of these potentials.

[kinworm]

Great post, Steve. I've been reading your blog for just a few months now and for some reason this post was one I really identified with.

In the past, I always felt really lost in my life and I drifted from one job to another with no real purpose or enjoyment. I felt like I had to go out and do a 9-5 job because that's how I was brought up and every single time I tried to break out of that, I would get so heavily criticized that I'd give up. Trying to fit into what other people wanted for me made me seriously unhappy.

For the past 8 months I've been blogging online about subjects of real interest to me. I am starting to earn some "pocket money" although that really isn't what drives me. I mostly am getting a kick out of finally doing exactly what I want to do. Luckily my husband is very supportive, and because I'm a stay at home mum anyway, it fits in very nicely with being at home.

I'm also starting to really distance myself from those people who have always held me back and who have never encouraged me in any way. Why do I want people like that in my life? I don't.

So life is becoming better now I don't feel like I'm being hemmed in to things I just don't want for myself. Thank you for the added inspiration.

[munish]

Originally Posted by Savage

As for leading the world's transformation, the only transformation you can lead is your own. Do that, and the world comes along for the ride.

[Still Growing]

Steve,
I'm a fan of much of your work......BUT..... I call BS on your "Being a Savage" post.

You made a case for the fact that while you were trying to follow your peers in the working world that it didn't work for you. You said........ "I tried to plug myself into a system designed to mold me into a regular job-wielding citizen. But for some reason that system didn’t work for me."

I wouldn't call theft and grand theft as evidence that you were trying to plug yourself into a system design to mold you into a regular job wielding citizen. Quite the contrary.....

Its clear that even at that time in your life you were trying to find an angle in which to get ahead. Now sure it turned out that the shortcuts of crime didn't pay and so you wisely chose a more legitimate way to accomplish your goals.... game development and now your blog.

I think this post coincides with the general perception you try to foster is that money or personal gain is not your focus when in my view it was and still is....... I find nothing wrong with that.

[Andrew Brunelle]

Originally Posted by Still Growing

Steve,
I'm a fan of much of your work......BUT..... I call BS on your "Being a Savage" post.

You made a case for the fact that while you were trying to follow your peers in the working world that it didn't work for you. You said........ "I tried to plug myself into a system designed to mold me into a regular job-wielding citizen. But for some reason that system didn’t work for me."

I wouldn't call theft and grand theft as evidence that you were trying to plug yourself into a system design to mold you into a regular job wielding citizen. Quite the contrary.....

Its clear that even at that time in your life you were trying to find an angle in which to get ahead. Now sure it turned out that the shortcuts of crime didn't pay and so you wisely chose a more legitimate way to accomplish your goals.... game development and now your blog.

I think this post coincides with the general perception you try to foster is that money or personal gain is not your focus when in my view it was and still is....... I find nothing wrong with that.

Even if that were the case, he has helped a ton of people with his blog, and through his book, so it's not like he is doing something unethical. He is doing what he advocates most people do: Find a way to make money doing what you love. And I'd say he's done pretty well, and has inspired tons of other businesses.

Whether or not Steve is a savage is debatable, but he sure took a path that most people are too scared to take, which is starting your own business. I don't think money/personal gain is his primary focus, but he thinks he should be paid fairly for the work he does, don't you?

[Excellent Lodestar]

Originally Posted by Still Growing

Steve,
I'm a fan of much of your work......BUT..... I call BS on your "Being a Savage" post.

You made a case for the fact that while you were trying to follow your peers in the working world that it didn't work for you. You said........ "I tried to plug myself into a system designed to mold me into a regular job-wielding citizen. But for some reason that system didn’t work for me."

I wouldn't call theft and grand theft as evidence that you were trying to plug yourself into a system design to mold you into a regular job wielding citizen. Quite the contrary.....

In a funny way,you could say Steve WAS following his peers;
look at the Banking and Wall St Scum that were bailed out, they were,and unbelievably,are still part of a "respectable" system... Steve's past was a least a bit more honest...he served his sentence and has moved on.

Our system actually DOES reward criminal behavior, I think you just have to be on the "right team" like these guys are.

[Still Growing]

Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle

Even if that were the case, he has helped a ton of people with his blog, and through his book, so it's not like he is doing something unethical. He is doing what he advocates most people do: Find a way to make money doing what you love. And I'd say he's done pretty well, and has inspired tons of other businesses.

Whether or not Steve is a savage is debatable, but he sure took a path that most people are too scared to take, which is starting your own business. I don't think money/personal gain is his primary focus, but he thinks he should be paid fairly for the work he does, don't you?

I agree that his blog helps people; thats why I've been an avid reader since 06'.

Should he be paid fairly for the work he does? Exactly. Thats my point. There's nothing wrong with that. I own two large and profitable businesses.

At the beginning of his post he made it clear that he did not thrive when doing what the system said he should be doing.... Not until he bucked the system did he find his own way..... My point was that he was trying to buck the system then. Even then his mind was trying to calculate how he could beat the system. Finally he learned that to beat the system you have to join the capitalist who run the system.

Lodestar, you really creating a new point thats not addressing my point. I loved Punky Brewster by the way... :-)

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Still Growing

Steve,
I'm a fan of much of your work......BUT..... I call BS on your "Being a Savage" post.

You made a case for the fact that while you were trying to follow your peers in the working world that it didn't work for you. You said........ "I tried to plug myself into a system designed to mold me into a regular job-wielding citizen. But for some reason that system didn’t work for me."

I wouldn't call theft and grand theft as evidence that you were trying to plug yourself into a system design to mold you into a regular job wielding citizen. Quite the contrary.....

Its clear that even at that time in your life you were trying to find an angle in which to get ahead. Now sure it turned out that the shortcuts of crime didn't pay and so you wisely chose a more legitimate way to accomplish your goals.... game development and now your blog.

I think this post coincides with the general perception you try to foster is that money or personal gain is not your focus when in my view it was and still is....... I find nothing wrong with that.

I have to call BS on your misinterpretation of the article.

It doesn't sound like you read it all that carefully based on what you wrote above. Looks very much like a skim-and-reply job based on your apparent conflicted feelings.

I didn't shoplift to get ahead -- that's rather laughable. Mostly I did small petty thefts and then gave away what I stole. I did it mainly because it was exciting -- a lot more exciting than attending dull lectures at UC Berkeley.

An example was when I stole every bottle of White Out from the UC Berkeley student store. Then I took the dozens of bottles, put them on a table in a student lounge, and wrote on the board next to them, "Free White Out." Within hours all the bottles were gone. It's hardly a financial thing -- it was more of a prank, but a mildly thrilling one to carry out.

I wonder if any of the students were puzzled upon seeing a table filled with free White Out.

Doing stuff just to make money is incredibly boring. Living in accordance with the system's expectations is terribly dull too, whether you do it as an employee or entrepreneur. Many entrepreneurs are just as trapped.

[James81]

Originally Posted by Savage

Living in accordance with the system's expectations is terribly dull too,

I'm glad to hear you say that. Remove the profanity filter around here and let's liven things up.

[MourningStar]

This thread is very interesting

I just wanted to pop by and say that you couldn't have picked a better time to post this article, Steve. What a strange coincidence!

For what it's worth, I didn't take it as a "The System vs. your freedom" type of post. I felt like you were saying something more like, "There are different paths to success, and you have some reconsideration to do if the system you happen to be following keeps spitting you out." And that was something I really needed to hear!

[Tobias Zimpel]

I love synchronicities ;-)

Just today I was musing about who I really am, and how I can become more "me". I recognized that I have lived to the (real or imagined/hallucinated) expectations of others for nearly all my life, and that I really don't know who I am and what I really want.

This article was just one of many sources that pushed the message of "You can't be someone else, and if you try, you'll always stay mediocre and unfulfilled. Instead, try to be the best 'you' you can become!" in the last 48 hours or so...

Thanks, Steve!

[Grandiouse]

I love this post, and Steve speaks the truth for those ready to hear it.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by James81

I'm glad to hear you say that. Remove the profanity filter around here and let's liven things up.

Will you serve as a moderator?

[James81]

Originally Posted by Savage

Will you serve as a moderator?

Sure.

And lmao at your rep bar. Holy guacamole that's extreme!

[Savage]

Originally Posted by James81

And lmao at your rep bar. Holy guacamole that's extreme!

A savage doesn't follow the rules.

[James81]

Make me admin so I can ban you for abuse of the reputation system. Lmao. 6 month ban for that **** right there.

[Andreas]

You know, posts like that and discussions like this thread are why this is my favorite place to discuss ideas on the entire web.

Think about it, where else can you go on the web that is like this place? I think we take this forum for granted sometimes (or at least I have in the past), and I just wanted to reiterate how grateful I am for the amazing group of people who come here.

This is a pretty damn special place.


Oh, and Steve, thanks for helping inspire us dream characters.

If you/we keep this up, who knows what new systems could emerge next....

[Summerbreeze]

Thank you, being a savage can be so enlightening, it shows how flexible everything is, if we have the "balls".

~sb

[Asten]

Originally Posted by Savage

So I guess it's no coincidence that a little voice came to me this morning and said, "Push on James. He's about to tip."

You're emitting a pretty loud "help me tip" vibe.

. . .

It's fun being a part of other people's synchronicities.

Speaking of being a part of people's synchronicities. I had to come back and say thank you for giving James a tip on here, because you inspired me to listen to my intuition about someone who needed a "tip."

I feared sticking my nose where it didn't belong, but it turns out brutal honesty was exactly what this person needed.

EDIT:

"When motivated by caring, can honesty really be called brutal?"

Good point.

[Still Growing]

Originally Posted by Savage

I have to call BS on your misinterpretation of the article.

I didn't shoplift to get ahead -- that's rather laughable. Mostly I did small petty thefts and then gave away what I stole. I did it mainly because it was exciting -- a lot more exciting than attending dull lectures at UC Berkeley.

The vast majority of the article was excellent. My main issue was that you said ""I tried to plug myself into a system designed to mold me into a regular job-wielding citizen. But for some reason that system didn’t work for me." after going into depth on your shoplifting.

What came across was my inner suspicions about your motivations. I always get suspicious when people downplay their personal benefits in the actions that they take. Its instinct.

[Lakshyayidhi Lakshmihi]

Originally Posted by Savage

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Being a Savage

Very timely read for me, as per the usual. I had an opportunity drop into my lap that will definitely challenge me and offer some growth - let's just say it's not at all the traditional route of anything that I had previously considered but it will become a rather lucrative avenue of exploration.

This blog was just what I asked the universe for...I am on my 2nd day of taking 3 days to consider the option that has been offered to me and I'm very much leaning towards yes now.

And it's the D side of D/s. lol.

[Lakshyayidhi Lakshmihi]

Originally Posted by ssandra

I'll try googling it...

Try googling "Happiness Economics"

Happiness economics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ssandra]

Originally Posted by Lakshyayidhi Lakshmihi

Try googling "Happiness Economics"

Happiness economics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tnx! Interesting and I'll look into that!