The above video speaks of the news blackout in Bolivar, Texas.  There are reports elsewhere on the Internet of similar ‘blackouts’ in other areas of Texas.

The following link has images showing the complete destruction Ike has wrought:  The destruction of Hurricane Ike

Why hasn’t the media shown the true scale of this damage?  Well your guess is as good as mine…

The Royal Bank of Scotland has advised clients to brace for a full-fledged crash in global stock and credit markets over the next three months as inflation paralyses the major central banks.“A very nasty period is soon to be upon us – be prepared,” said Bob Janjuah, the bank’s credit strategist.A report by the bank’s research team warns that the S&P 500 index of Wall Street equities is likely to fall by more than 300 points to around 1050 by September as “all the chickens come home to roost” from the excesses of the global boom, with contagion spreading across Europe and emerging markets.Global Market Collapse

From one of my posts back in June: Reverse Reality and the Economy

Three months later we are in September and things appear to be falling down. Lehman has ‘gone’, AIG has been bailed with a temporary loan (it’s worth being aware that in aiding AIG, the Federal Reserve has helped a private corporation which is not a bank!) The Bank of America has brought floundering Merrill Lynch.

In the UK the Halifax Bank of Scotland’s shares have plummeted, and they are now in take over talks.

In sinagpore hundreds of policy holders are queuing outside an AIG subsidiary in an attempt to claim their policies.

In Russia, stock market trading has been suspended for the second day, and there are suggestions that this trade suspension may be an indeffinate one.

All of the above has occurred within less than 3 days! My bet is that it is far from over.

So – where does that mean you stand? Are we all just going to sit on our arses and wait for the inevitable market crash? Well to be honest there isn’t a whole lot we can do, though it is a good time to ‘get ready’ for what is to come. Now this isn’t an attempt to scaremonger – but it is an attempt to remind people to be mindful of what is going on in the world. Stock up on dried food, learn how to make your own bread, remove your savings from your bank – it will be safer under your mattress – stock up on water and batteries.

There is no need for fear, but there is a need to respond to current circumstances. After all – what is the point in being aware, if we are only going to simply sit back and wait to see what happens. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and is available to everyone, but foresight can be a gift – and it shouldn’t be squandered.

They don’t erect any visible barriers, don’t hold aloof great signs which say ‘Look at what I do! This is me!’ This isn’t about meekness, or being humble – far from it. It is in fact down to a very simple principle; a matter of individuality. So different from the loud obnoxious or verbally proud types – the falsely perceived ’strong individuals’ – no, those types are making up for the inner turmoil they feel. They are seeking justification for their existence, demanding a cascade of material rewards, or esteemed attention, for it is this which they crave – it is nourishment for them. It is that which they need to sustain themselves. And yes – this type are as equally justified to their existence as anyone else upon this fair planet. Righteousness born from inner weakness after all is not a crime, and perhaps neither is it a flaw, at least none so more than any other trait.

Yet the loud, the obnoxious, the self-praised and the self-blessed – wear upon their cuff the mark of their inner world. Yes indeed, if only they could see that which is clear to all those but themselves. Enveloped as they are within a world of perpetual denial, the lies and half-lies – the twistings of words, concepts and notions – to which they hold secretly, yet vicariously, yet with pure unfettered will. The world is moved and transformed again and again if only to satiate their ever sensitive and precious ego. It is I state again and yes aloud – a matter of will. “Look! I am indeed this thing which I proclaim myself to be. I say again and again, and without bias or prejudice – without even a glance of self mockery (this Self cannot be mocked), and in so saying I mo(u)ld myself in my words. I am as I say I am!”

But then there is a common truth – most simple as all true truths are; actions speak louder than words. And oh, how many interpretations those words carry. Yes what, a prickly can of hornets – a real unwanted nest of dirty worms. I will say it louder then, yes; ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

Step back, perhaps close your mouth and watch me just as I watch you! Hear my words (no, don’t merely listen), as I hear your words. Yes words speak, words carry, words transform…

…words illuminate…

…words set free…

…words bind…

…words are nothing…everything…nothing and yes again, everything…

Words bely the minds behind them. What then do words show in the absence of action? When you speak and tell, but do not do? The mind carries outwards, it falls from the mouth from the eyes, and lands upon your lap and yet you do not notice, it is there for all to see who have a mind to do so (have a mind hehe).

And turn the notion about – look backwards, or sideways, or sidelong – whichever suits – and glance again at that phrase. What do actions say in the absence words? When someone does but does not say. When one achieves but does not display. When one puts up a mighty work of art, doing so in silence with nary a word. What do such actions say in the absence of words?

Meekness, humbleness? No – nothing so crass; look away and guess again. And guess and guess and guess…

…The joke is of a most snide hilarity, for though you may guess (and guess, and guess) you do not think to ask! What then do actions show when there are no words? Why – they show there is room for words – most assuredly, most certainly – ask, and ask again. After all, questions arise from the simplest cleanest of minds, questions drive us forward – ever onwards. Whilst answers (and most certainly assumed answers) drive us ever down, into a bog of ignorance and ultimately denial (I speak and speak and tell my words) why yes – your answers point to you, and thus the error is uncovered most astudiously, if only you are wont to look.

Follow that thought – don’t search for why I spoke it, don’t search for answers, don’t search for reasons (indeed all these are hanging on your cuff). You speak (no not you, but you) and you show yourself, when you assume you are looking in the mirror – but no, let’s not think on that, easier the road of self-denial, easier by far to reshape the entire world – if only to fit your assumed words. Better to guess and guess and guess.

Oh dear, enough! From whence do these guesses come from?

I am a big believer in sub-conscious behaviour; that many of our reactions are unconscious responses to stimuli we experience. Living in an overly crowded town is a good example of this – and this is something I have experienced myself – where it is impossible to leave your front door without tripping over someone. It’s a closeness that borders on claustrophobic, with people seemingly present at every turn. It infringes on ones sense of freedom, and in the end the constant overlooking, the hustle and bustle all lead to heightened tensions and people get grotty, antagonistic and hostile. The Ego (and the Spirit) need room to breath. I have noticed that most people don’t actually notice all of this, instead they are more focused on their immediate circumstances – by and large they will blame those immediate circumstances for their woes…and on occasions lash out at them, either verbally, emotionally or physically.

Being on the receiving end of this sort of stuff can get tough, but being the guy dishing it out is no less unpleasant. I have often found myself on both ends of that spectrum. And you know what? It is always about the Ego – that part of us which takes offence, believes itself to be affronted, or simply wants to ensure its barriers remain intact. I’ve noticed that the more the Ego becomes under-threat, the greater extent its defence mechanisms kick in. And this really is a problem.

Learning how to deal with this is an ongoing exploration. The truth is though, the more you can learn about yourself the better you will be able to handle these issues. This is what I do; every time I find myself reacting towards something, I quickly take a step back and look at the processes which are going on within me. Why am I feeling in such a way about that particular subject, occurrence or event? What purpose is it fulfilling if I allow myself to react in such a way, who is this serving? It can be a tough thing to constantly look inside ourselves like this, and I appreciate that many people simply feel they cannot do it. But in the end it doesn’t take that much effort to give this a go…the biggest hurdle is standing face to face with yourself – and many are completely unwilling to do this. But that too is merely the Ego trying to get its way – because it knows that once you look it in the eye it will lose a degree of its power over you. You see the Ego thrives on ignorance.

Ingorance in its pure form is a lack of self awareness. Now think for a moment on what that implies for a culture who constantly looks away from itself, and sees everything as either a threat or an opportunity…

Social Morality: This changes with the wind. Social morality are the beliefs and ideals of the time…they are always present within society at almost all levels. The prevailing social ideals towards morality almost always heavily imprint an individual as they grow-up. It’s an obvious point, but this is why different generations have different perceptions or ’standards’ towards morality. “Young people now-a-days just have no decency!”, it’s common enough to hear that sort of thing. For the most part social morality is heavily influenced by law, rules, regulations, various institutions and belief systems. Most religions have a core based upon social morality.

Personal Morality: Every one has their own unique perspective, their own beliefs and ideals. What one person finds acceptable another finds reprehensible. This one obviously causes a lot of disagreements, some individuals personal morality is in perfect alignment with social morality, whilst other people have totally different standards for their personal morality. As with social morality, our personal morality is in a constant state of flux. It changes as we change; as we develop and evolve or as we meet positive or negative experiences, it affects our personal morality – which will shift towards better or worse.

Morality: I won’t give this one a label, because labels induce pre-conceived notions in people, therefore it is simply ‘morality’. Within reach of all of us – we have access to an innate ‘morality’ that is built into the fabric of reality itself. Most people are aware of this ‘morality’ even if only on a subtle level. Most people turn their backs on it, because of what it means. Morality tells us what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, it isn’t any form of higher law, and it isn’t really divine though I guess it could be viewed in that way. When you take away both personal and social morality; that is to say – when you have silenced the your own ego as well as the Ego of society – then you will feel a very different kind of morality within you. This is what the Tao speaks of, it is what the Buddhists have long known. We truly do have an awareness of the natural order of things, yet we forget this when we let the distracting noise of egotism and the domination of ideas get in the way.

Why is it so difficult for us to see these things clearly? The answer is pretty obvious; we fill our heads with ideas, thoughts and noise, and then we attach meanings and symbols to these things. We create an artificial world. In the end we lose sight of what is real and what is true – and even find ourselves asking things like ‘What is the truth?’

As an individual we discover our identity within the constructed artificial world of Maya. And this serves us well because it strengths us, and teaches us about the physical world. From this we have developed science, technology and all manner of things. Yet we cannot rely on these things to guide us regarding morality. Once we have identified the world of Maya, it is very easy to get scared and try and flee back into the construct. Yet the only way for us to grow, and find peace is to truly open ourselves to what stands outside of the illusions.

There’s a very simple way of looking at the economic situation which immediately puts things into context,  in 1920 fuel in the US was roughly around 30 cents.  I don’t know if that was a ‘lot’ of money back then, but it sure seems cheap when compared to today’s standards.  But ‘money’ is a relative thing, because modern currency is ‘fiat’ money meaning it has no real value.  Let’s take another look at fuel in the 1920’s.  Back then it was possible to buy around 4 gallons of gas for one silver coin.  Interestingly it is still possible to buy around 4 gallons of gas for one silver coin.

The price of gas has not changed, these items (and many others) have held their value in relation to each other.  What this shows very clearly is that worldwide currencies are falling.  Prices aren’t increasing, the reverse is true – our money is loosing value.

For all the fear mongering being generated right now in economic circles (see below), you won’t actually hear any of this being mentioned.   Better that we be kept ignorant of our economies failure, because this allows us to plant blame in individual corporations such as Bear Sterns or countries like China.  Anything to divert attention away from the real problem…the system itself is flawed – and in very real danger.

Here’s something from The Royal Bank of Scotland:

The Royal Bank of Scotland has advised clients to brace for a full-fledged crash in global stock and credit markets over the next three months as inflation paralyses the major central banks.

“A very nasty period is soon to be upon us – be prepared,” said Bob Janjuah, the bank’s credit strategist.

A report by the bank’s research team warns that the S&P 500 index of Wall Street equities is likely to fall by more than 300 points to around 1050 by September as “all the chickens come home to roost” from the excesses of the global boom, with contagion spreading across Europe and emerging markets.

Global Market Collapse 

Is the economies time really up?  Probably.

Guess the now is the time to think of what we can do to prepare ourselves for such an event.

Will it happen, or are there too many people and companies (like Google) who are against the idea?

Figuring the future is a fickle thing, and I never claim to be able to make ‘psychic’ predictions, but like many other people I can make intuitive ones. That said, I never settle on a single vision of what the future will bring – the future is mailable with infinite possibilities, and I try to be as open to as many as possible. Fixing our view on an expected future is a sure way to bring it about, after all it is easy to have tunnel-vision and simply keep walking in a straight line.

So what will the next few years bring? What we are going to see are varying degrees of a big maybe…

Economy

The economy is still knackered, and despite a number of short-term recoveries – it is undoubtedly heading towards a lot of difficulty. There are some suggestions now that the Federal Reserve has almost exhausted its supply of assets. How much longer can large banks and organisations continue to be bailed out of trouble?

The cost of insuring against default on the bonds of Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and other big banks and brokerages has surged over the last two weeks, threatening to reach the stress levels seen before the Bear Stearns debacle. Spreads on inter-bank Libor and Euribor rates in Europe are back near record levels.

The Telegraph

Anyone with just a small ability of foresight can quite easily tell that it is not a case of if the economy will collapse, but when and how far it will fall. A few years ago, whenever a conversation came up about the economy or housing markets, I would mention that even though it appeared the economy was strong, a financial crash was coming. Most people didn’t believe it, some still don’t.

It’s not hard to foresee these things, it doesn’t require any skill or special ability. All it needs is a degree of self-awareness (so that you avoid the pitfalls of self-denial many are trapped in), and to be open to intuition in addition to reason (as opposed to blind reason on its own).

My feeling is that, yes – the economy will collapse. It will be a chain reaction, a domino effect that will spread right across the world pulling down each economic area one after the other. Naturally, this will hit the housing markets – there will be a ton of housing repossessions, and buying a house will be out of the reach of people. The cost of renting may drastically increase. But that depends how it hits the landlords, many of them will also be losing their houses. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the government capping how much a landlord can charge for rent on a given property.

Jobs will become scarce as one company after another folds, in the worst case scenarios there will be very little money available in the form of welfare. I can see a time where people are given food vouchers.

Depending on how far things go – currency will lose its value. Though the way I see it, there are enough institutions out there that will benefit from keeping a pseudo economy going. Maybe the US Dollar will become the Amero, and with out doubt the UK will replace the pound with the Euro.

Like I said, I set nothing in stone with all this. That said, my feelings tell me it will be a depression similar to the 1920’s rather than a recession like the 80’s.

Fuel

This seems to be on everyone’s mind. Travelling 50 miles to London and back by van can now cost or more £30, it is seriously effecting traders and couriers. Prices in the UK are around $8.60 per US Gallon of gas, personally I reckon it will be around $12 – $14 per US gallon by the end of the year.

Home fuel is also a massive problem, far larger than we are being told:

Environment Minister Hilary Benn again rebuffed calls this week for WW2-style energy rationing to return to the UK. He was responding to a Select Committee report urging ministers to issue 45 million Britons with an energy trading “credit card” – a mammoth techno-bureaucratic exercise costing several billions of pounds a year to operate.

[...]

So what are the MPs proposing?

The ration, or “personal carbon allowance” or PCA, is a measure of an individual’s energy usage, either at home or traveling. Such usage is capped, and “further emissions rights will simply not be available,” the Committee says. You may choose between a holiday, and turning on the heating. Points win prizes, however, and frugal individuals would be rewarded financially from the creation of an internal market.

Fuel Rationing

I don’t see things, going this far – simply due to the cost of operating such a system. Remember such money won’t be about. But I do suspect that eventually we will be rationed fuel in some form, for example the powergrid to certain areas being turned off for so many hours per day / night.

The fuel issues present a number of possibilities, we will see a return to small vehicles and bicycles, plus the increased used of mass public transit. More people will take up working local jobs, and commuting will fall out of favour; a low paid job with no travel costs will be far more preferable to a high paid job with high travel costs. Though, there will of course be far less jobs at any rate.

Increased fuel costs have already led to price increases in just about all areas…

Food

There is a lot of blame being put around for this, with many people blaming the likes of China for the increasing price of food. Such finger pointing is very easy (and we are going to see the notion of ‘blame’ getting very, very bad). It’s pretty clear, with even a little thought that issues surrouding food are compounded by all the other problems in the world; fuel prices and economic issues being just some of them. Climate issues, and natural disasters have caused their fair share of trouble too.

In addition many areas that used to produce food crops, have now switched over to fields and fields of bio-fuel crops. This in itself has economically ruined some of the smaller third world villages. We have a way of forgetting certain facts, one of which is the bees dying off – no bees means reduced (and even no) crops.

People in general can be pushed a long way, they can be stretched thin financially, and stressed to breaking point with crazy work hours. The one thing that everyone will not accept though is the absence of food. I am fairly certain when I say that the western world isn’t too far away from seeing it’s first food riots in a very long time. That’s pretty grim, and I don’t like the idea of it – who does? But that doesn’t hide the facts. Now the question is, how bad will they be? My thoughts are that such food riots will be localised to large cities. But state-wide and country-wide ones aren’t impossible.

I recently read how most first world countries used to stockpile a certain amount of food. In the event of disaster or war, such food would then be rationed out. Now most countries work in a very different manner; food is delivered directly to the store selves. There are no stockpiles – what is present is either in transit or in the store. And a store can be emptied in a matter of hours, look how quick food disappears when there is severe weather…

Water is another issue with the term ‘Water Wars’ starting to be picked up, expect that term to become as prevalent as the term ‘terrorism’.

Further Issues

It seems that the world is reaching a boiling point with hundreds of different threats presenting themselves all at once. Conflict and constant wars are an obvious point, with the United States steam rolling its imperial banner right across the world.

Natural disasters are having the largest effect ever, with major earthquakes and hurricanes happening all over the place.

Draconian laws are being introduced at an unprecedented rate, enforcing ever tighter control measures – naturally citing any or all of the above as an excuse.

Blame

Just about everything is being blamed for the current situations, from China to immigration, from welfare states to corrupt governments, even the environment itself in the form of global warming. We all feel the growing crises, some people are even starting to feel boxed in. Even those who are in denial about the worlds state, seem to be aware of it on a sub-conscious level as they blame the popular targets for one reason or another.

Everything is being blamed but the true cause; the domination of the ego-culture. The entire ‘greed is good’ ethos, the notion that the individuals desires can justify their actions. The belief in profit and growth. All of which lead to subjugation in the belief in community, and partnership. Society now merely exists as a platform for profit and ego-domination.

Have a listen when people talk about society, more often than not they are describing something almost mechanical; a system. Such a view seems to have decoupled from society being about people and instead views them as a cog in the machine.

The Little Picture

Before much longer, former allies may well end up at war with each other. It will probably be a different sort of war, where the countries don’t actually attack each others territories, except in the form of small scale terrorist acts. Instead the middle-east will become an escalated conflict zone for a number of countries. Most people feel that China is soon to play a much larger part in the world, and I reckon Russia will be getting back in on the game.

As the world descends into seeming anarchy, the individual will be squeezed tighter and tighter. Food will be very expensive at best – at worst it will be very difficult to obtain. Economic troubles will cause companies to close, and jobs will be scarce with high competition rates for each position that becomes available. With less money to spend from the ‘consumer’ a number of other industries will go down – retail will be the first. When people can only afford the bare essentials – what happens with the luxuries? I imagine a lot of boarded up shops even in the richer towns.

Populations will be relegated by increasingly stringent rules and laws. ID cards will be essential, and I reckon we will even need permits to travel outside a certain distance from home. There will be a lot of civil unrest, bolstered by many of the above issues combined with increased ethnic and other social tensions.This will merely be a reflection of the global crises, As these problems spread right across the globe, tensions will rise – and countries will begin to raise their borders. Some countries in particular will become completely insular. I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see the US becoming a no-go zone. The UK may well follow suit.

What I am describing is pretty grim, but is it that far fetched? Yet even all that is only the surface layer…

The Big Picture: The Battle for our Minds

Whilst with complete justification, we begin to occupy ourselves with concerns of the future – and – in the event of the above scenario an increasing worry about survival, another war is being fought. One which is far more subtle; a silent war for our minds. The individual concerned primarily with survival, puts aside thoughts of freedom – but not only that, such is the state of mind of the traumatised person that they are wide open for a form of belief induction. Take 9/11 as an example, regardless of how and why it happened – the undisputed fact remains that it changed many peoples perception of reality. The event itself triggered a traumatic response, into which was then introduced a never ending barrage of suggestions and threats regarding terrorism. This is a powerful form of programming (whether it was deliberate or otherwise), so powerful in fact that many people talk about the ‘terrorist threat’ in an automatic response. That is how deeply lodged the idea has become.

Right now, at this moment in time – western civilisation is going through an extended trauma, one threat after another is being dangled over our heads. Some are real, many are not. The truth is that a person only needs to be bitten by a dog once, in order to believe that all dogs are a threat.

The governments, media and corporations have taught us to fear their barks…and they are without doubt the undisputed masters of our societies.

Blame is an important factor in solidifying a people against a common enemy. The great things about enemies is that they cause people to come together. Even better is the enemy which displays a clear and present danger – under such threat, it is very easy to be manipulated into new ideologies – all in the belief of the greater good of society (the social machine, as opposed to the social group).

What this represents is a paradigm shift, the old systems of power are metamorphing into some new and perhaps bolder. The world stage is changing, and this means the power systems need to adapt or fall. Yet it seems they are choosing a third option; they have been presented with a fantastic opportunity for complete control.

Yet the deal goes both ways; more people than ever are questioning the nature of society, and some are going even further and being prompted to question the nature of reality itself. You can bet that this side of the deal is well understood – and many attempts will be made to drive out all alternative views on life and reality. But such things cannot be held down forever…

It’s crazy, over-the-top and kinda perverse – yet it fits many a attitude within our society; the whole emerging ‘guilty until proven innocent’ thing. ‘If you got nothing to hide, you got nothing to worry about’, and so on.

Anyway – as always reality is one step (or more) ahead of fiction.

A nasal spray which increases our trust for strangers is showing promise as a treatment for social phobia, say scientists from Zurich University.

They found that people who inhaled the “love hormone” oxytocin continued to trust strangers with their money – even after they were betrayed.

Trust Drug

It’s being marketed as a beneficial medical drug. Yet I can’t help having visions of cops with ‘Trust Sprays’ instead of mace, and planes flying over cities dumping tons of this stuff onto an unsuspecting populace, instead of (or in addition to?) whatever gunk is currently sprayed from chemtrails (heck, would anyone even care – we would all probably trust that the ‘right thing’ was being done).

The world is spinning crazy, but at least it’s nice to know that efforts are being made to ensure that trust is being kept alive…

I have noticed quite often how so many people barely seem to live life – let alone have an awareness of it. They kinda just tread through it, taking each next step as a matter of course. Sometimes when I look in their eyes it really is soul wrenching; it looks as though they have giving up on something essential. Their words and actions deny this – even as their spirit cries out. The spirit and soul crave freedom and often spontaneity – excessive routine tend to shackle both.

In a society that is built upon excessive routine it’s not so hard to see why so many people feel trapped. Yet I always come back to the point of self-awareness. No matter how much we feel imprisoned by a lifestyle of immoveable routine, it only serves to compound the issue when we give into denial; “That’s just how things are.”, “You have to work to live.” In the end we force our mind to conform to its circumstances, and thus we live in denial. It really is quite the opposite of self-awareness…we literally hammer the door shut on that notion. Naturally this invites a life of reaction rather than a life of action. Simply living according to whatever circumstances the excessive routines of our daily life dictates.

The problem is that self-awareness under these conditions brings a price; as Cypher said in the Matrix ‘Ignorance is bliss.’ Perhaps in some terms that idea has merit, but then can a life of ignorance bring with it a sense of self-fulfilment and completion? The problem as I see it, is that ignorance is a wilful suppression of the truth – it is open denial. We may try and hide truth from ourselves, and no matter how many times we tell ourselves ‘That’s just how it is’, it doesn’t mean we accept that idea.

The other side of the coin is nievity which is the lack of awareness of truth. I think it is perfectly possible to be happy and contended in nievity, because it is a natural circumstance. It lacks the bullheadedness of ignorance.

My problem with ignorance and denial is that they perpetuate the idea of things being unchangeable, they enforce the idea of giving up on ones circumstances. Ignorance and denial are the slayers of hope. Self-awareness – even if it is difficult to face – brings with it hope, and the idea that everything is changeable.