Blue Fox Shaman

What we actually mean is “welcome to scarcity”; excuse our little attention-grabbing pun. And, we know this is like putting up a “Welcome to the USA” sign in the middle of Kansas. You’ve been here quite a while, but this is just in case you hadn’t noticed. This is why your life sucks and the world is in a death spiral. (No, not because you live in Kansas.) We’ll try to explain, briefly,
otherwise, we run the risk of rambling on about strange, esoteric matters, as is our habit. Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?!

What’s wrong with the world today?

If we had to find one answer, it would be scarcity or, at least, the fear of scarcity. We, most of us anyhow, don’t have enough money, enough time, enough friends (besides on Facebook), enough… almost anything you care to mention.

This is a tough problem. To overcome the fear of scarcity is difficult because it requires us to confront our fear of death, or at least our fear of being left out of a group, which to our instinctual minds is the same as death. This makes sense because the only way to ensure our individual survival is to give ourselves unreservedly to active cooperation with other members of our group who do the same. What group would that be? Exactly our point.

This genuine need to cooperate is a double-edged sword–it enhances our ability to survive, but it makes us subject to the machinations and manipulations of those who wish to use the group for their own individual advantage, while robbing the other members of their rightful share of the benefits, the fruits of their own labors and ideas.

How? The manipulation is quite easy–when you get a little power, give yourself more things, and other members of the group less, than are needed, or at least less than they think they need. Introduce an uneven distribution. And that, in turn, introduces competition among the other members of the group.

Competition, even among members of a group of “equals”, is not a bad thing, in and of itself. It is, in fact, a prerequisite to the survival of the group. Competition allows the group to adapt to changing conditions, when new ideas and techniques have to be developed, then evaluated, and those judged most likely to succeed are given a try. And a differential award given to the victor of the competition is not in itself a bad thing either; it can be the driving force that stimulates work and creativity, as long as it is held in check.

The problem arises when the penalty for the losers is to experience scarcity, real or imagined. In the worst case, the loser is pushed out of the group, or even killed. If the losers are killed, driven out, or even just reduced to scarcity, then the social cohesion of the group begins to unravel.

Why does it unravel? If someone believes their very survival as an individual is threatened, why care about the good of the group as a whole? If our survival is threatened, we’ll do anything to anybody, lie, cheat and steal, to get what we need. Again, this plays into the hands of those who wish to control the group and reserve the bounty it produces to themselves alone. In fact, a lack of social cohesion is the main tool by which they manipulate and control the larger group. The trick is to set up small “groups” to whom you give just a wee portion of your power and wealth. A little is enough for them to recognize that their self-interest is aligned with yours- they will gladly oppress the others on your behalf in order to maintain even a small advantage in their personal survival.

“Wait!” we hear you say, “what about those altruistic souls among us who put the needs of others before their own, some even to the point of giving their own life.” Yes, we are thankful for them. Humankind owes them much. And our sorrow at their loss is exponentially increased if we think that perhaps some died for a phantom created by the greedy to increase their own gain. There still is good in our modern societies or they would have flown apart and descended into complete chaos long before this.

All this gets a little more complicated when you’ve got mass-media and “democracy” involved. That just adds the layer of having to produce good propaganda. Current events in the USA amply demonstrate that the powers that be have done an admirable job with it (if you admire deception).

So, in case you were wondering, this is why you feel like you never have quite enough. You don’t. At least of some things. Probably of most things. And it is why you don’t feel like you belong to anything like an extended family, or close group of friends (again, Facebook doesn’t count). If you do belong to such a group, excellent! Keep it up! And recognize that you are blessed to a rare degree. Please be sure it is not just a group that shares slogans, or enemies–that’s one of the traps. And, recognize that those who don’t feel they belong are not (necessarily) psychopaths you must shun; those who hold the power and wealth in our society have done such a good job of destroying social cohesion that we don’t even know what a real group would look like. If you’re looking at someone else than the billionaires and oligarchs who run the world as the problem, you’ve fallen for their lies. Both “sides” have been duped. (Why not! They’ve got plenty of cash and influence to play both sides against the middle. Hell, there is no middle where everyone can meet anymore.)

This is why things are rather mucked up right now. The chickens are coming home to roost, environmentally
and socially, and the powers that be (on whatever side they claim to be) are perfectly happy to send us all into oblivion, as long as they hold on to their power and wealth to the end.

I’m really sorry to say this, but looked at from the viewpoint of all of human history, our current civilization has reached its destined apex and is now in ever-swiftening decline. It’s hard, very hard, to face up to the fact that we must all one day return to dust, our vaunted civilizations too. We’ve rather liked being able to find practically any book or article we’ve cared to read online.

What to do? We believe that we must start with a careful evaluation of the situation. We’ve written this to stimulate your thinking and suggest things you might not have thought about. But after evaluation must come action, and action must be adapted to each individual’s current situation. Can you begin, in some way, to reconstruct social cohesion? Can you join or start a real group of people who do more than share photos of their cat? Can you start the only real “revolution” worthy of the name, which begins with the reform of your own heart and desires before it dares touch the world “out there”? That self reform, that elimination of selfishness, is the necessary beginning, but it should never cease. As we act, we must constantly re-evaluate why and for whom we (really) act.

Let’s get to it, then, because the time for action in the world “out there” has arrived. The call has gone out, and the Wedding Feast has started. Woe to those who come to the Feast without their wedding garment. If what is good in the Human Race is going to survive, then we must be wise as serpents and innocent as doves… both/and please!

Fox wishes to remind us:

ΦΙΑΛΗ = ΑΥΡΑ :: ΑΣΤΡΑΠΗ
ΦΙΑΛΗ = A broad, flat bowl or saucer for drinking or pouring libations.
I Ching: 37. Family / The Family
judgment: The perseverance of a care-giver is advantageous.
image: Have substance in your words and duration in your way of life.
Tarot: Three ♥/Cups
upright: friendship, community, happiness, celebration, collaboration
reversed: overindulgence, gossip, isolation, “three’s a crowd”
(We must constantly evaluate (ΑΣΤΡΑΠΗ) our desires (ΑΥΡΑ) to live in community.)