Zaadz anyone?

Life Puzzle is all about creating whole and dynamic lives in a world that is otherwise focused on the linear: grow up, get a job, house, cars, kids, stuff, die (consumerism). Life Puzzle challenges this old mindset and says, as we build in all 16 core areas, 5 edges that create the SELF, we have the opportunity to consciously create our lives. It is a great way to live, yet only about 10% of the population even has a clue that this is possible.

One of the complaints from new Life Puzzle makers is that they feel relatively alone out there--and often don't have anyone to share their ideas and thoughts with. To that end, I wanted to share a website that you might find useful. It is Zaadz.com and its focus is to connect people and businesses who are on the leading edge of new ideas.

Zaadz gives you the ability to post 'pods' around topics you'd like to discuss and as others see it, they click on and 'join' the discussion. It is quite a fun experience. Right now I'm in a pod called Beyond Ishmael (discussing Daniel Quinn's book, Ishmael) and Peace through Commerce (focusing on improving global peace by encouraging economic development in third world countries). Actually I challenged the originator of the Peace through Commerce pod--and we've now been going back and forth trying to find common ground.

In the course of this dialogue, he shared a lecture by Peter Barnes of the Schumacher Institute (Small is Beautiful). Capitalism, the Commons and Divine Right which I think is well done and think you'll find quite interesting. As a Life Puzzle-maker, it will provide insight relative to several pieces of your life--financial responsibility, community & environment, parenting/family building and work!

One of the main themes Barnes talks about is how we currently 'revere' money above all. We revere it so much that we have given it 'divine' status. "Capitalism (moneyism) is the thing" and we are all so thoroughly trained in this divine status that we can't even see that we're worshipping....money--often at the expense of life. He is encouraging people to challenge the divinity of money--and essentially saying it is time to shift and put our energy on 'revering' the Commons (or I would call it the Community of Life--which includes air, water, land, animal, plant etc.).

As he says, “If we were to revere the commons (community of life) as fervently as we currently revere capital, our divine right would shift'. In other words…we would have LIFE driven economy and the 'market' would serve LIFE in creative, entrepreneurial ways to to improve, support and grow LIFE. What a fabulous way to spend our energies–with LIFE as the outcome, everything we do would enhance life. Yes, there will be a 'market' and money will be made, but what we do, and where we choose to put our energy would be different than it is right now where MONEY is the primary outcome. With LIFE as the outcome, we design cars that ensure that life is not destroyed. Our current cars don't enhance life--they spew massive amounts of CO2 which is leading to global warming and the total destruction of life. But our new cars are lightweight, use solar energy to power them and are then totally recyclable when its time to do that. We'll make money yes, but mostly we'll build the Community of Life.

As it is right now, we revere capital. Thus, we have a Money driven economy and the 'market' serves it in its creative entrepreneurial ways to improve, support and blatantly to grow MONEY. If LIFE is lost in the process--it is considered acceptable! While a small portion of folks are having a great time doing this (the upper 2% which control 98% of all money), massive amounts of humans are enslaved to this limited vision and we stay stuck.

I think it is bringing forward and exposing this skewed 'reverence'–because we are so blinded by the golden glint of 'divine right of capital' we can't even see that it is problematic, that is of utmost importance. It seems to me anyway, that when people examine this–just like when they first learn about the 'whole” Life Puzzle–its a 'duh, wow, now that I see it, its so obvious' that sets the foundation for actually being able to shift out of the old and into a new world that values natural, social and economic systems in a balanced whole.

At any rate, these are some of the ideas being discussed at Zaadz.com. Take a moment to look around and see if this is a good place to put some of your time in the process of building your Life Puzzle...a piece at a time with the whole you in mind!