GuidoWorld

The following is the remainder of an essay I wrote some 30 years ago which I recently found while getting rid of old notebooks.

Studies of human infants appear to replicate in the individual what has happened in primitive societies. The infant, like primitive cultures, starts from chaos and slowly forges a sense of having a world, a cosmos.

At first it appears that a newborn is a float in a sea of undifferentiated sensations. Bombarded with sights, smells, sounds and sensations all without a distinct form or meaning. Eventually patterns emerge and a child is able to isolate and identify objects and sensations. At some point in time he becomes aware that he is separate from the world of sensorial objects which stimulate his perceptions.

The ability to isolate sensations and identify and focus on specific objects creates a world out of the formless sea of earliest life. Once the baby begins to overcome chaos with order, he begins to take pride in his ability to make associations amongst objects. Quickly he jumps from identifying his specific dog and stuffed bear, to understand the concept of dog and stuffed toy. The lamp becomes a lamp and the entire world of generalized objects opens up to his awareness.

Since the word often makes a thing spring into life for a child, often young children have difficulty separating the object from its name or the word used to identify it. This is the stage of word magic when the very naming of the object seems to create its existence. Until the word was learned, the object eluded his perception, but once the sound (word) found its association the object sprang to life.

The very possibility of having a world seems to be structured in language and the ability to have perceptions settle into differentiated objects. Like primitive societies the individual and his world come into existence out of initial chaos. Slowly we see snapshots of the world about us. Out of these snapshots we construct an organized world and universe. We seldom see an entire object, or a room and definitely not the entire planet or universe, yet our mind quickly learns how to fill out large pictures such as our room or house piecing together and filling out the voids left by separate and incomplete perceptions. This is how we sense, structure and live in the world.

The primitive felt meaning and the world very fragile things. The power of the Word was something revered by many cultures. Not only children, but early societies had a hard time separating a word from the thing named. The name of an object was not arbitrary but essential and in many cases the object came into being the moment it was named. People believed if you knew the correct name of an object you could call it into existence.

In ancient societies the object and its name were one. The naming of a child after a father or grandparent was not just a sign of respect and honor, but a way of insuring the continued existence of the name (person). This explains the fact that many cultures cite people living hundreds of years in their earliest history. As long as the name lived on so did the spirit of that person. A person only died when the chain of the name handed down from generation to generation got broken.

I mentioned these things to emphasize how central the quest for cosmos and the fear of chaos has been in the functional history of man. Man created the sacred as a way of giving life meaning and significance. Each increase in the realm of the sacred was an increase in the ordered world of meaning and a victory over chaos.

The desire and need to fabricate meaning through expanding the realm of the sacred continues in modern man. For modern man life can not be left on the level it is experienced. It cannot remain temporal, transitory and fragile. Life for most has to be grounded in purpose and meaning.

Ironically the more life was experienced and defined as a historical existence situated in real time and space, the more man relied on placing the essence of life beyond temporality. Both science and religion portrayed the same basic view of life. Even though life was experienced as temporal and finite, its essence is eternal.

Religion had Truth, God, the absolute, eternity and other trans-temporal superlatives. Science had law, Truth, infinity and its similar superlatives. In fact, the possibility of making a scientific or religious statement demanded both certainty and dogmatic truth. Neither science nor religion would view any temporal functional reality as worthy of credibility.

Rationalizing Pain

The struggle for survival has been a constant companion of human history since its earliest memories. His fight to survive his battles with the elements, drought, plague, animals, other tribes, ice ages, fires, etc. have caused man to suffer and left him puzzled and hungry to find explanations for life’s cruelty.

Man used to spend the bulk of his existence barely meeting his basic needs of food and shelter. Often the life of the average person was painful and fragile.

Man had to rationalize his pain, to find reason for existing. Without such reason man would find it hard to continue. Much of mythology and religion is focused on giving man hope and having him deal with pain and suffering. God and Truth are two ways of rationalizing pain and giving life meaning.

For ages pain and suffering have been prominent realities of human life. The search for meaning has likewise been a way for man to deal with his pain and suffering. In a world of incessant change it makes sense that man sought something constant to ground his life in.
This desire to find a non-changing basis for life gave birth to Truth and God. These ultimate and eternal truth’s gave man comfort and provided his life with meaning. Since the early mythic ages of man life’s purpose and meaning have been predicated on the eternal laws of God and Nature.

Life, Then and Now

Not many would argue with the belief that an individual goes through many stages of development. Actions, thoughts and activities deemed appropriate and beneficial at one age may be detrimental or restrictive in another. Mankind, like an individual, develops and grows through time. Where is mankind now in his development, and do his thoughts and actions match his stage of development? Are our lives filled with suffering and do we need absolutes to provide life with meaning?

I personally do not spend the bulk of my existence fighting to survive and do not experience my life as being predicated on suffering and pain. My life is not free of pain, but it certainly is not dominated by pain. I do not feel meaning fragile, but rather meaning is something almost impossible to remove from my experience.

In fact life is so saturated with meaning that I can look at a single event from a host of perspectives which all endow my life with meaning. I am free to see events from a biological, chemical, psychological, historical, economic, mystical, systemic, spiritual or anthropological perspective (just to name a few).

For millennia the possible arbitrariness of life was a source of vexation and despair for man. He looked to Truth and God to help him through the night. Yet, now I find then concepts of infinity, eternity and Truth to be sources of imprisonment and not comfort.

The very ideals that many found necessary to lesson the pain of man’s tenuous if not futile existence now feel suffocating. I find life to be a challenge and not a struggle or fight. I enjoy being temporal and find great pleasure in the finitude of experience. I like . being able to have choices and to see life from a host of perspectives. I find so much meaning in human experience that the arbitrary is no longer a demon. The fact that I a finite and will one day die gives my life meaning and significance. The thought of living forever or having an afterlife seems to make my time alive here seems to strip each moment of its importance and significance.

Castles in the Air

When we adopt a perspective we are giving meaning to our experience. If I take a ball and thrown it at a metal hoop extended 10 feet inn the air supported by a backboard little meaning is achieved. Yet, if I construct an entire game involving a complexity of rules, objectives and priorities I give the activity meaning and significance. If I give the activity which allows for success, improvement, creativity, and expansion I will have a better chance of funding this stimulating and rewarding.

I yearn to the the world from a host of perspectives. I want to experience the world, chemically, biologically, poetically and mathematically. I’d like to view and feel the world from the perspective of 16th and 17th century cosmologists and well as that of the 20th century astronauts.

I also want to build my own sand castles and have my children and grandchildren feel the world from my new forms of meaning. I want to give them the gift of enjoying and basking in our humanity and yearn to see and feel the world from their eyes.

Lived meaning is neither absolute or arbitrary. It is what it says it is, lived. Human life does not need absolutes or gods to become fulfilling and amazing. Every moment is both magical and real, full of meaning and capable of personal poignancy.

I enjoy a life of building castles in the air. No experience is fully captured by one truth or one reality. Absolutes and ideals cannot exist in our world, for our world is sensual and finite. This is not to say that one cannot use or be motivated by absolutes. Yet, being dependent on them seems to be such a waste of human potential and a restriction to the richness and quality of human experience.

Jim Guido

In this post I’d like to pay homage to our ability to live in time, to not be imprisoned in the present. Many of today’s spiritual practices have a tendency to glorify the present while tacitly demeaning the past and the future. Some thirty years ago I wrote a song entitled Fictional Space which I will use to highlight some of my points.

By fictional space I’m referring to our ability to go beyond the present moment by drawing upon our past and projecting into the future. Since the present is often considered “the real” the “what is really happening” the past and the present could be viewed as being non-real or fictional.

My memories, my past, infuses my life with meaning. My personal history constructs my sense of self and allows me to have relationships with others, to develop skills and talents, and to perceive growth and development.

The ability to project my life into a future provides me an opportunity to plan, set goals, change direction and anticipate. Anticipation is an important ingredient in my ability to feel and experience pleasure.

A life lived totally in the present would lack depth and meaning it would be a flat and unguided existence. Totally bereft of meaning and a sense of purpose.

These thoughts are contained in my song Fictional Space which follows. I’ll talk more on a few of the following lines.

Fictional Space

There’s something of the mind which plays off circumstance
Like a servant pampered king it can be wise or frivolous
Unencumbered one used for strategy of evasion
Place me straddled on this life
Vision gives me power and might
Bash their monstrous heads, the survivors scheme
Lovers engulfed orgasmic anticipation
The hunter laughs at the snap of the trap

Fictional space

There’s something that’s the style which I won’t represent
It’s a feeling of denial wan discouragement
Harlots of the soul lost in merriment
Visceral drives buried by excitement

Moments take pride in invention
Problems provoke awkward hesitation
Solution, look to friendly vistas
The future beckons the agile dancer

Fictional space

Make me alive set me on fire
Make me alive celluloid fire

——————————————————————————-

There’s something of the mind which plays off circumstance
Like a servant pampered king it can be wise or frivolous

My ability to have a future and a past is a function of my mind which plays off the present circumstance. This ability can be used well or wasted. One can use this freedom and talent to make a life fulfilling or construct a babbling mind dedicated to avoiding the world and personal experience.

Unencumbered one used for strategy of evasion
Place me straddled on this life

This freedom to play with time gives my life depth and meaning, and at each moment I am free to weave together my past, present and future into a life.

I’ll let you play with the rest of the lyrics.

Yet, in the end I prefer to see “being here now” or “existing in the present” as useful tools and not absolute goals. Being fully aware and immersed in the present would be a form of imprisonment and would not lead to “enlightenment” , “fulfillment”, or a better life.

I embrace my humanity and revel in my sense of time and the fullness it brings to my experiences and my sense of self.

Jim Guido

In February I wrote a series of posts regarding  the stock market saying that the Dow had to get above 8400 and stay there or it was going to roll over. Well, it did roll over. At that time I mentioned that I had expected more out of the rally out of the fall low.

Well were back at it again.

After the low on March 6 we have seen the type of rally I had expected earlier in the year.  The Nasdaq is up some 40%  in just two months. The S&P and the Dow could get there this week.

Does this mean the bear market is over and a new bull is here?

From a historical perspective this seems very unlikely. In fact during the last depression we had a number of these breathtaking rallies which sucked everyone back in only to have their hearts and bank accounts broken.

How much further will this rally go? Well it could stop at any moment, but could take the Dow all the way up to 9000 or even 9500.

Yet, this rally seems less impressive when you realize that in early February I was talking of the Dow needing to get and stay above 8400 and today some three months later we’re celebrating the largest rally since 1932 when the Dow is a little more than 1% above that same 8400 mark.

Today I’d like to point out one statistical measure that would seem to have us be extremely sceptical of any talk that the economic and market downturn are over.

The Price to Earning Ratio (PE) is often used to help assess the relative worth of a stock. The PE ratio is determined by dividing the price of a stock by the earnings of the company.

As an example if a stock closes at $50 and the company’s current earnings are $5 per share than that stock is selling at 10 times earnings.

Now, expected PE ratios differ from company to company for a variety of reasons such as the kind of business  it is or if it is a new company or part of a new industry. Yet, the Dow and S&P as indexes have historically averaged around 12 to 14 times earnings. When the companies of the these indexes fall below 10 times earnings the stock in these companies is generally considered to be under valued, when above 15 times earnings the stock is often regarded as over valued.

When the PE of the entire Dow or S&P is over 20 we are said to be in a bubble.

Seldom does an index PE ratio rise much above 24 times earnings. Historically, every time this has happened the market has entered a bear market which has continued until the index’s P/E  has gone into undervalued territory.

Bear markets continue until PE’s get down to about six or seven.

When this bear market started the Dow and S&P were in historically high PE ratio territory. Some estimates has the Dow’s PE over 40.

While the bear cut the Dow from 14400 to 6400 in a savage fall in a little over a years time, the PE ratio tumbled. As stock prices fell so did the earnings of  the companies, so that while the Dow lost over 50% of  its value, its PE ratios still stayed in overvalued  territory.

In fact the Dow and S&P never even got below bubble territory as the PE’s of the indexes remained above 20.

With this current rally the PE’s are currently up in nose bleed territory. The Dow’s PE is currently over 33 and the S&P is over 50.

In previous bear markets following bubble markets the bear market does not end until the PE of the Dow gets under 7. In order for this bear market to follow the historic norm the Dow would have to fall to somewhere between 1600 and 2000.

Am I predicting this. No, not really.

But, I do feel pretty safe in saying that we are going to be a lot closer to 2000 than 1000 before this bear market is over.

Not once has a bear market following a bubble market ended with the PE of the Dow staying above 10.

Now, earnings could improve some while the bear is doing its job, especially if we get an inflationary environment rather than a deflationary one.

So, just maybe we’ll be able to get the PE ratio below ten and keep the Dow from bottoming out below 3000.

It could happen, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Yet, to think the worst is over when PE’s are still in bubble territory is fool hearty at best, and just goes to show how far we still have to go.

When most bear markets end the average person hates and is out of the stock market. At the end of bear markets interest in and participation in the market is at a low.

We’re not any where near that happening yet. People are still trying to make the money back they lost last year in the market, and that is the mixture of hope and desperation that bear markets feed themselves on.

Yet, if this time were going to be different our PE ratios would not be in nose bleed territory.

Please be careful and heed the warnings of history.

Jim Guido

Okay, here’s what Joe actually said.

We quote: “I would tell members of my family – and I have – I wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places now. It’s not going to Mexico, it’s you’re in a confined aircraft when one person sneezes it goes all the way through the aircraft. That’s me. I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway. So from my perspective, what it relates to is mitigation.

“If you’re out in the middle of a field and someone sneezes, that’s one thing. If you’re in a closed aircraft or a closed container, a closed car, a closed classroom, it’s a different thing.”

Less than 12 hours earlier President Obama urged caution along with hand-washing and covering the mouth when coughing. After Joe’s comments Mr. Obama felt it necessary to add that one should feel free to travel unless they themselves are coughing or feeling sick.

While the President’s words regarding pubic safety were welcomed Mr. Biden’s were viewed as foolish and a possible cause of social panic.

In both remarks the president and the vice-president were expressing typical public health truisms. The president urged the public safety by asking citizens to wash their hands and to cover their mouth. The vice-president urged people not to take unnecessary risks by not putting themselves in confined environments where shared breathed air is conducive to the spread of socially transmitted diseases.

From a public health perspective both are extremely similar. The president focused on individuals taking actions which limited the spread of germs while the vice-president urged people to avoid potentially harmful environments. It really is the same message one is personal responsibility and other is being cautious.

After the outrage over the vice-president’s comments, the president felt it necessary to state that only people who appear sick should avoid putting themselves in confined spaces. The president’s follow up comments were a bit weak on two levels. First, the vice-presidents comments were about personal caution and not putting oneself unnecessarily in harm’s way. Not about endangering others. And second, it is not necessarily true that only people who are actively coughing or visibly sick are contagious. Another public health truism is that often times people are most contagious before they start to exhibit symptoms.

So, why are Joe’s comments considered to be so over the top and alarmist. All he is saying is that if one has a choice right now they should not put themselves in harm’s way. He said we would urge a family member to find alternative forms of transportation to one’s which involve a whole bunch of people being packed into a cramped area to help reduce the odds of being around an infected person.

How is that crazy? How is that extreme, or fear mongering?

If through everyone’s caution, even if a little unnecessary, the pandemic were to be averted isn’t that a good thing? Wouldn’t they be able to go back to the subway or the plane once the WHO and local public health officials give the green light? Even if unnecessary where’s the harm?

On the other hand if people just assumed that there was no danger and their actions actually helped with the spread of a disease with a high kill rate how can that be defended? Even if this turns out to be a more normal flu what’s wrong with a little caution?

I’ll tell you what the media found wrong. The real fear is about money. It is another example of how human life is less important than commerce and insuring the fiscal interests of the wealthiest of individuals.

Joe’s comments asked the “consumer”, in the name of public safety, to ease up a little on a specific form of consumption (mass transportation). Actually he suggested people find alternative transportation rather than tell them to stay home.

Currently Mexico, who is our number one trading partner for much of our short term needs, is actively restricting the social and commercial flow of the nation. The Mexican population seems to be willing to make some commercial sacrifices to help control the spread of a potentially lethal disease.

In the US a few isolated communities have closed schools and canceled densely populated social events such as sporting events  to try and avoid the very situation which the vice-president was alluding to. Such communities are trying to eliminate the cramped and dense social situations which, like mass transportation, help foster disease transmission.

Yet, the US in general is avoiding placing any restrictions on either commerce or social gatherings. In essence the fear is the negative impact any restrictions would have on commerce and the economy.

Call me old fashion, but I still place a higher value on health and quality of life over monetary gain.

Mr. Obama talks and appears to be a compassionate, sensitive person who is concerned about the plight of the common man. Yet, the people he’s chosen to surround himself with, his actions including the bailouts and his international policies are showing his priorities lie with the status quo. His recent comments attempting to modify Mr. Biden’s comments show once again that the interests of big money is still more important than human life, especially the lives of the common man.

Hopefully, our lack of response and desire to keep our society running at full steam will not result in assisting the spread of a sizable pandemic.  It may be true that we can neither cause nor prevent a pandemic, but we do know we can take actions which can reduce its severity and impact.

Taking precautionary measures is not the same thing as being an alarmist. The alarmist seem to be the one’s who think being cautious is dangerous or crazy.

I guess I’m in the rather safe than sorry camp. Even if I was in the money and consumption is our first priority camp I can’t see how fanning the flames of a pandemic is good for the economy.

I’m not sure if putting commerce first is more short sighted or short hearted.

Jim Guido

In the last few posts I’ve pointed out how incredible man’s progress has been over the last few centuries. Yet, I also mentioned that despite these accomplishments we are missing many opportunities for making human life more rewarding, happy and safe.

In this post we’ll some of the issues which surround earth day to demonstrate how our current economic and political structures are retarding and in some cases harming the quuality of human life. Many of these ideas have been dealt with in a more in-depth fashion in previous posts over the last couple of years.

I’m using the image of the Trojan Horse to conjure the image of something offered as a gift, which in reality if meant for harm. This image does fit with some of the less wholesome aspects of modern capitalism.

Consumption is a major aspect of capitalism, and sales is a major component of consumption. A salesman’s job is to make his product appealing to the customer. Successful sales are often dependent on convincing the customer of the need or benefit of the product. Sales techniques often involve the following strategies:

1) Deception
2) Misrepresentation
3) Propaganda
4) Distortion

These techniques are used to help cast the product in the best light while omitting or under-stating its weaknesses. These techniques are also used to induce a potential consumer into making a purchase that they have no need for at that time.

The modern drug commercial is a perfect example of the above sales techniques. In which the supposed benefits of the drug are depicted in the most alluring terms while the potential drawbacks to the drug are rattled off breathlessly beyond the realm of cognition. This feeble attempt at providing balanced information is only done because of legal pressures on the industry. In most industries and businesses there is no requirement to present any case but the one which makes your product or service look as attractive as possible.

This lack of truth and skillful misrepresentation even dominates our legal system. Instead of justice, the goal of lawyers is to win cases and make money. In a justice oriented system the focus would not be on guilt or innocence, but rather on a total exploration of the facts to best understand motives, conditions and extenuating circumstances. In a system of justice the goal would not be to deceive or influence the jury and judge, but to present an honest exploration of the harm done (prosecution) and the reasons for the offense (defense), and how to best accomplish both restitution and rehabilitation.

In our legal system even though a witness is supposed to “tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”, the sad reality is that both lawyers are trying to get the witness to tell only the part of the truth that benefits their client or purpose.  One would not have to look very deep to see how the need to make money and procure clients leads to this logical outcome of guilt vs innocence over justice. Yet. most defend this immoral legal system, because they take capitalism for granted and can’t even imagine a system of justice which is not capitalistic in nature. Justice should not be a service and product offered clients but rather a system which promotes the safety and quality of life of its citizens.

Let’s take a moment to review some of the ways in which modern capitalism limits or runs counter to our efforts to create a healthy, safe and sustainable environment composed of healthy and happy individuals.

A healthy and safe environment would have products and infrastructure which was:

Efficient
Durable
Enduring
Self-replenishing
Safe

Yet, we live in a system which promotes:

Over-consumption
Fads and fashions
Planned Obsolescence
Products which need repair
Unnecessary packaging and waste

Many studies over the past few decades have documented the role over-consumption plays in various psychological disorders.  Spiritualists and psychologists alike have pointed to high consumption of food, products and services as an ineffective means of an individual attempting to fill their emotional and psychological needs.

Many addictions and compulsions are routinely exploited by our capitalistic system. Which has many motives to keep the consumer unsatisfied and unhappy. A happy and sated person will have less reason to consume and will more often consume according to need.

How to get people to consume as much as possible has long been a science in our culture. Research scientists for many companies played with their products recipe and delivery system to maximize sales and consumer loyalty to the product. Researchers at coffee companies soon realized that the amount of caffeine on their product directly correlated to the amount of coffee consumed by the public. Too high a level of caffeine and the drinker could stop at one cup, too low a level and the drinker could lose interest in the beverage. Yet, a happy medium and the consumer would drink many cups of the beverage in search of the lift they sought from coffee.

The same balance of too potent and not strong enough was found by researchers of beer and cigarettes.  They could maximize their products consumption and the loyalty of their consumers by finding the right mix of addictive high and watered down delivery.

Likewise in many aspects of the food industry this science of how to maximize consumption has been quite fruitful. Diet soda recipes often induce one to feel more thirsty after drinking than before, inciting its consumers to drink can after can in a fruitless attempt to quench their thirsts. High amounts of sodium are used in many restaurants to heighten beverage sales at their establishments (beverages have some of the highest profit margins at food establishments). The list of cravings one can elicit through careful manipulation of recipes is quite extensive, and it is safe to say that most food companies and eateries use these techniques to maximize sales and profits.

Fostering over consumption is neither healthy nor good for the environment.

Capitalism’s dependency on profit makes if prone to encouraging over-consumption. From a capitalistic perspective neither the ecological movement’s disappearance nor its re-appearance in the form of the recycling industry is surprising.  The ecological movements concerns were harmful to the bottom lines of many corporations and industries.Yer, recycling has been designed and implemented in a way which benefits most businesses bottom lines.

First, it is great niche marketing. The recycling industry appeals to the good conscience of people and to the earth lover’s who have a tendency to consume less than the norm. A combination the recycling and organic food industries got the ecological crowd excited about consumption. A crowd which formerly avoided many forms of consumption based on morality could now be seduced to consume according to the same morality. In fact, this earth loving crowd, would be willing to purchase goods and foods at higher prices in their effort to be healthy and kind to the earth.

I know that I myself by products and recycle due to my desire to do the right and healthy thing. I do this, even though, I see through the Trojan Horse aspect of the recycling industry.

Our current recycling industry is a far cry from anything resembling a movement with ecological integrity. It is, after all, a recycling industry whose existence is dependent on making money. The recycling industry only returned because it adapted to capitalism and became a very profitable business. The recycling industry is not a charity, nor a humanitarian service, it is a profit hawking free market survivor.

While purporting to get rid of waste and inefficiency it is in fact dependent on ever escalating levels of waste to support its growth and expansion. If we were to become truly efficient, the recycling companies would be the first to go out of business.

In addition, the harms caused to the environment are often stronger than the benefits gained trough recycling. The recycling processes involved in newspapers and plastics are only two examples of the ethical dilemma the industry poses. Though trees are saved when we recycle paper the amount of toxins and hazardous chemicals put into our water supply in the process of stripping newsprint off of paper is greatly increased. Likewise, the amount of energy used and chemical damage incurred through recycling many plastics call into question it’s ecological benefits.

Could we make recycling more ecologically friendly. Yes, of course we could. But any movement adapting to our capitalistic system will have to make great concession to become profitable. In a previous post I talked of how we could replace most plastic container uses with glass. The two objections given to the use of glass by industry spokesmen are that reused glass would be  unhealthy and unsafe. Unhealthy because of germs and unsafe because glass breaks.

Well, it would be easy to create reusable glass bottles that were shatter proof or break resistant or make reusable skins made of materials which were effective and environmentally friendly.  One could also easily create sterilization stations at grocery stores, etc. which would tend to the germ problem in a safe and cost effective manner.

Yer, the reason we won’t do this is because it isn’t profitable. The reason we’ve refused to make cars more efficient is because it hurts proit margins. If we created true cures to diseases and medical conditions rather than pills which mask symptoms or depend on your constant use, then phamaceutical companies would not be profitable. Therefore, why would any research go into discoveries which would kill the business.

Capitalism depends on waste and inefficiency, for profit is dependent on waste and inefficiency.

In a system of competition each company produces more than they sell out of hopes of increased market share and their fears of running out of the product to meet consumer demand. Some estimates are that as little of one tenth of food that is raised and harvested is actually consumed.

Once again I will print the following logic chain and hope you ponder its validity.

PROFIT = Surplus = Excess = Waste

Capitalism is a system which we’ve outgrown. We need a system that thrives on efficiency, that rewards mutually beneficial solutions and actions rather than win/lose competition, and that encourages self-actualization rather than view individual contentment as a threat to consumption.

We need a structure which rewards people for being kind and compassionate rather than one that rewards artifice and views people as consumers.

As human beings, we have come along way, and our political and economic systems have contributed to this growth. Yet, we now are at a juncture where optimal growth and satisfaction require new structures. If not, our current path will further erode the quality of life of an increasing percentage of people all across the globe.

Jim Guido

In the last blog I focused on the incredible progress mankind has made over the last few centuries. I mentioned how, for many on our planet, the quality of life has improved greatly. I also discussed how old belief systems such as human existence being based on pain and the fight for survival limit our personal sense of joy and contentment….. and how this negative view of life prevents us from believing in and constructing healthy social systems.

I am very aware that for many on the planet life in still rife with pain and suffering, and war, starvation and disease dominate the human landscape. Yet, at the same time it is difficult to deny we currently have the resources and knowledge to eradicate a good portion of this pain and suffering. The obstacles to our reducing humanity’s woes is more political and psychological than anything else. Which, as I mentioned before, I address fully the scope of the problem and its solution in my book Exploring Intimacy which you can read free in its entirety in the words section of this site.

Yet, in my world, and the world of many others on this planet living a life generally free of suffering is immediately available. I live in an enironement which is both convenient and sustainable. An environment in which my ability to be happy is mostly up to me and is not limited by outside forces.

Everyday I walk two to four miles through some of the prettiest scenery nature has to offer. Right outside my front door there are roads cutting through lush ever changing foliage which evolves with the elevation from valley to mountain ridge. My walks go along rural neighborhoods and even include a couple of horse farms. I’m surrounded by deciduous an evergreen trees and changing foliage which includes azaleas, rhododendrons, pampas grass, bamboo, various ivies, etc. Intoxicating sights and smells cradled amongst the sounds of mountain creeks and song birds. Wild turkey’s, snakes, turtles and the occasional bear are also staples of my visual world.

Though beautiful, this is not wilderness by any stretch of the imagination, for I’m less that 3 miles from a huge grocery store and less than five from the downtown market area containing all a modern man needs to live a life of convenience. Likewise, I am minutes away from quality medical services. I live in a community which is both safe and beautiful.

Is where I live a dying breed or could it become the norm? Can we create rural/urban communities which preserve nature while providing safe and technologically current life worlds?

While in recent times we have often taken paths which seem to be moving away from creating a healthy environment and a caring society, we still have many opportunities well within our reach. The dye has not been cast and our fate has not been determined. Yet, there is much politically and psychologically to overcome.

If we continue to place commerce, profit and the individual above health and kindness, we will not only not maximize our potential but waste our opportunities. If we continue to mistrust our neighbors and try to centralize and horde wealth we will continue to foster war and wasteful winner take all competition.

Capitalism and nationalism are not evil, but rather formats that have outgrown their usefulness and now have become counterproductive. The psychology inherent in the fight for survival has made us resourceful, resilient and creative. Yet, once again it is a viewpoint which has outlived its value.

Seeing real threats is an important survival tool, yet imagining dangers leads to paranoia and loss of freedom and joy. Many of the conflicts and problems of our modern world are self initiated and maintained. When one approaches a new situation with balled up fists and prejudice it seldom can result in friendship.

The biggest problem I see us facing is in our world psychology. When it comes to our planet we take the current political and economic structures as givens and view all other possible views as either too idealistic (utopic) or irrational. This is amazing when you consider how long we’ve had civilized life on this planet and what small portion of the time our current economic and political structures have been in play.

Just as we created democracies and capitalism out of systems which were antithetical to many of its basic premises, we can create new social structures once again. Our lack of confidence is our biggest obstacle. We can and will one day create societies which are more in keeping with the times and status of our post modern world.

The only question remains how healthy and adaptive the new structure will be. Without structure social systems and societies would lack, meaning, direction and predictability. Social structures can be confining or liberating, restrictive to growth or fostering new ideas. As I noted earlier, much was gained by our current structure, yet now it has become outdated and limiting.

Developing new social structures should not be about rebellion or utopia, but rather they should be viewed as the natural outgrowth of progress and human evolution. Viewing the potential of new paradigms by comparing them with old paradigms is often self-defeating. Healthy structures are born of common sense and the meeting of people’s current needs, not in meeting the needs and goals of the old paradigms.

Much of what I’ve said in yesterday’s and today’s blog will become more understandable if you go to the words part of this site and read Exploring Intimacy.

Here is a recent lyric which fits into this theme. The song is still in production and will not be on this site for a few more months.
To Your Health                                 12/3/08

I felt fear, but never dread
I’ve been scared, but never fled
I improve, with a critical eye
Sometimes it keeps me, from enjoying life

Keep the wind at your back
Don’t fight the world nor go on the attack

I felt joy, not exaltation
I seek freedom, amidst limitation
I feel pain, not agony
I yearn to grow, amidst harmony

At my core I seek more
At the same time I feel fine

I love to laugh and smile
for it has me feel so alive
feeling calmer each day
seeing more opportunities to play

let it go it’s OK
sit in silence listen and sway
health is a treasure most precious
all that’s sensuous, delicious and luscious

Well I feel lighter than air

Jim Guido

What mankind has accomplished in a couple of thousand years is truly amazing. The advances of the last few centuries are breathtaking. Modern industrial society with its abillity to mass produce and create new technologies and inventions which drastically improve our lifestyle, health and knowledge are awe inspiring.

Look around your house, in your closets, bathroom and bedroom and you see objects which kings of a few centuries ago could not hope to acquire. Clothes, appliances, machines, furniture, utilities and crafts exist at every turn. The infrastructure of even the most lazy rural community are efficient and dependable. Advances in communication, transportation, medicine, agriculture and science are occurring daily.

Go to any store and look around at all the objects. Think of how they are made and the incredible functioning network of resources, transportation and production we have fashioned.

Yet despite all of this wonder and activity there are many destructive and harmful tendencies that we not only ignore but foster. Despite having an increasingly globally interconnected community we still exploit our neighbors and rape the earth. Even though the US has had no real competitors on the world military stage for quite awhile, we still wage war, torture and threaten with great frequency.

Despite all our knowledge, resources and abilities our rates of murder, suicide and depression continue to increase. Individual’s are not necessarly feeling better about themselves or their contemporaries. Prejudice, hatred, fear and agression seem to be on the rise rather than on the decline.

In my book, Exploring Intimacy, which you can read in the words section of this website, I examine the reasons and solutions for our discontent. I urge you to read it. Even though I wrote it some 20 years ago it seems to become more pertinent every passing day.

We currently have the ability and the resources to create much healthier and rewarding social structures. Part of the probelm is viewing our current social structures as inevitable even though they are recent inventions. Another problem is our tendency to avoid beneficial social changes by immediately treating any suggestion as a utopia.

Just as science and technology are ever progressing, so it should be the same with human communities. Though there is no perfect society there are social structures that are healthier than others and that promise high rates of self-satisfaction and general feeling of happiness and contentment.

It is obvious to most that some home environments and parenting styles are more conducive to producing happy children than others. Likewise, most would concede that certain working environments are more conducive to productivity and worker satisfaction than others. In general people would agree that the successful functioning of any environment from a hospital to a school is highly dependent on the how it is run and organized.

Build a healthy user friendly structure and your odds of success and satisfaction are greatly enhanced. We would be well advised to put as much thought and energy into making our society as efficient as our factories and businesses.

One of the themes of Exploring Intimacy is to assess the harm and limitation done to our sense of joy and contentment by holding on to attitudes which our society has outgrown. The Fight for Survival and its attending fears, prejudices and priorities is found to be one of the major obstacles to our building and being open to a healthier society. Though we have the means and resources to feed the planet, and peacefully coexist the remnants of the fight for survival and its accompanying fears and prejudices make this goal seem idealistic. Likewise the personal angst along with the fear and mistrust engendered by the fight for survival makes it difficult for individuals to conduct their lives in a fashion which breeds happiness and contentment.

In my next blog I will continue on with this theme and discuss how our modern existence differs from the one of pain and suffering which beget our reliance on basing human existence on the fight for survival. In the meantime you might want to start reading Exploring Intimacy.

Jim Guido

When I was young I developed a strong love of physical activity and sports. Though small and rather un-athletic by nature I quickly developed formidable skills. My favorite sports were basketball and baseball. While size isn’t as important in baseball as basketball it still was a huge handicap in my youth. Before the age of 16 a lack of physical strength puts you at a huge disadvantage in most competitive sports such as baseball. As an example I was a very good pitcher and shortstop, but the lack of strength had to be compensated for in the speed of my pitches and my throws across the diamond.

Until people got to know me I was always discounted and viewed as an underdog in games and contests. I soon began to love shocking people and proving their perceptions of my abilities wrong. Instead of fearing competition, I always viewed it as an opportunity to succeed. In basketball I would use this to my advantage. My adversaries, being bigger and more athletic than I were supposed to win. I, therefore, had nothing to lose. When I had a chance to win I was excited by the possibility, my talented opponent, on the other hand, often choked on the pressure of the expectation that they win.

I was 4’8″ and 83 pounds when I went into high school. Though  I grew a foot in high school I remained very undersized in basketball and small for baseball. In baseball I became an excellent fielder and could throw the ball as far as anyone I played with. In pitching I had a wicked curve ball and a lot of other junk to compensate for my lack of a blazing fastball.

Yet, in both sports I flourished in competition. I practiced many hours and became sure of my skills and abilities. I relished the opportunity to make the big catch or get to the grounder in the hole, or to make the last shot or the decisive steal in a basketball game.

By the age of 12 my ability to hit the game winning shot earned me the nickname of “game”, for as the ball left my hand I would yell out “game” as the winning shot made its way to the basket. Did I make every game winning shot? Of course not. Yet, I did hit the majority of them and I always looked forward to taking the last shot as an opportunity for success.

My personal experience of the benefits of viewing crucial moments in sports as an opportunity for success rather than a potential failure has been validated by the experience of others. The fear of failure is at the heart of the term “choking” in sports. Those who feel the pressure of the moment are always bewailing their lack of success. One can often sense this tensing up and choking when watching an event of television. You can see the pressure on the faces of the players and in the hesitant manner in which they execute their plays.

Though my confidence and excitement at the prospect of succeeding powered me through all basketball contests through my college years it did fail me in much of my adult life. In baseball I was always confident and loose when it came to all skills except batting in which my fear of being injured by a pitch over rode my confidence of making the big hit. My fear of being hit by the ball limited my batting skills and I never excelled at that aspect of the game.

Likewise playing basketball as an adult became more of a social event, in which I became concerned with the reactions of others. So, in situations in which my teammates supported and believed in me I continued my old tradition of being a clutch player making the winning shot or defensive stop. Yet, my performance suffered when my teammates did not support or trust me.

The majority of my adult life I have spent my time working with “at risk” and problem oriented youth who have been removed their home and been placed in group homes or various other treatment facilities. In most of these children their is a tendency for them to focus on and perceive almost every performance situation as a failure. The more severe the child the quicker and more frequently they view themselves and their actions as failures. In a given situation they will panic or give up way before anyone else in the room even senses that a potential failure even exists.

Much of my efforts with these children revolves around having them see the positive side of possibilities. My goal is to replace performance anxiety and negative prophecy with a joy of opportunity. Instead of feeling failure, I try to engender an appreciation of identifying an opportunity for growth and improvement. Though it is true that we seldom learn without making mistakes and that personal growth is dependent on improvement, it is often hard for us to look at poor performances as an opportunity for future success and as a natural part of the growth process.

Yet, the growth in self esteem and success of the children I work with is often directly related to their ability to see social and academic performances as an opportunity for success rather than a breeding ground for failure. Once they no longer have the expectation or feel the pressure to be perfect, they are able to accept the assistance and benefit by the criticism of others.

In my personal life I’ve generally done a good job in terms of viewing personal mistakes and interpersonal conflicts as opportunities for growth rather than failures or dead ends. This willingness to not only accept but revel is life’s imperfecions and challenges has rendered me a relatively happy person. It allows me an opportunity to enjoy the endless process of improvement while keeping my expectations high.

While my personal and social life has been a constant source of joy and happiness I must admit my view of the world and humanity in general has lagged behind. Though it is easy for me to appreciate life’s imperfections it is hard for me to view the path of humanity in a positive light. Instead of seeing our mistakes and wicked policies as opportunities for learning I have a tendency to dwell on our inhumane acts and violence. I guess it is because I focus on what has been lost and what tragedy awaits our fear and stupidity rather than acknowledge what we’ve accomplished and what could be accomplished in the future. It is hard for me to accept mass murder, war, genocide and torture as bad decisions made by fears of failure and poor self esteem rather than evidence of impending doom. My trust of myself and individuals is far greater than my trust of groups and collectives. Many of the people I’ve worked with personally have engaged in actions as heinous as any government, yet I’ve been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I’ve been able to help instill a healthier view of themselves and others.

In modern capitalism you have a system which promotes and rewards such pernicious qualities as greed, wastefulness, self-centeredness, hatred, elitism, deception, exploitation, fear and mistrust. This is not to suggest that other social systems would be free of these qualities, but only to point out that our current system accentuates, fosters and rewards these characteristics.

It seems logical to me that we need to move towards a world in which its societies limit fear and a sense of failure by focusing on what we can gain rather than what we could lose. We need to build social structures which emphasize opportunity and personal growth and de-emphasize perfection and the prospect of failure.

Yet, maybe it is only I who needs to change and begin to see the opportunities the world is moving towards and focus less on the bad choices we have made.

One thing is for certain, and that is the areas for growth in terms of human society are vast.

The following lyric and song are pertinent to this topic.

Go to Music section and go to Opportunity Lost CD and click on mp3 icon to hear song.

Opportunity Lost

I’d like to feel a part of this life
I’d like to have a child, home and wife

Each time I settle down I gaze so far ahead
I see the pendulum swing this way and back again
I feel lonely riding the crest of the wave
‘Cuz my friends just keep bobbing left in its wake

Some like to dream others work till they drop
Some complain with zeal others swallow till they pop

If life’s a mystery than solution is such a chore
For what’s found ends the quest mystery demands more
I just love to smile feel the sun on my face
I wish the human race could be run at a comfortable pace

As the tidal wave approaches I move far ashore
I plead with my friends to fish no more
As I lie in bed awake yeah, feel my body aching
For I sense disaster coming soon

I stumble thru the darkness feel for the door
Hope the knock I hear is not just the winds mighty roar

Everybody’s fervent prayer hanging heavy in the air
If we try hard we can make it come true

Let the winds take you away don’t fight it now its OK
I pause to see what’s coming I shudder at opportunity lost

Let’s not waste our time with hating when we should be celebrating
I’ll share my fondest wish with you

Everybody’s fervent prayer hanging heavy in the air
If we try hard we can make it come true

Let’s not wast our time with hating when we should be celebrating
I’ll share my fondest wish wish with you

Here are the lyrics and a couple of additional thoughts I have for a recent song I completed earlier this year. This song will be recorded and published on this site later this year.

Please listen to my other tunes in the music section of guidoworld. All music is free and provided for your enjoyment.

Toil No More

I live life in motion
Less noun than verb
Devour all with passion
Less guile more verve

I wish I could stop pushing with urgency
Give it all I got while staying calm

Like salt in the ocean
I wish to merge
Melt into the moment
Both depth and surf

Looking at the world I long for sanity
At the way we spend our time and how we love
Everyday
I look with hungry eyes and
Think with a caring mind
We learn best when we play
Alert and having fun
While we sit or while we run

I live life in motion
Less noun than verb
Devour all with passion
Less guile more verve

Looking at the world I wish that history
Was used to guide and not make us numb
Everyday
Learning is so fun
When its adding to your sum
We learn best when we play
Enjoy activity
Of being you and being me

Life is too short
For hate and war
Life is so short
Work less play more
Toiling no more
Make life a sport
Toiling no more
Make life your sport

1/08/09

I’d like to amplify a few points. First I’d like to talk on some of my intentions for writing the first stanza. When I say I’m more a verb than a noun, I mean that I’m more about experience, action, perception and process than an object. Even though my body is a thing my sense of self is less tangible. Yet, without my body experience, thought and my sense of self would not exist. So, I am a verb, and action taking place within a body that is sensing a world.

In general this song is an energetic celebration of our humanity. We, like most mammals, learn by play. When we are enthralled with life we create both joy and productivity, and we feel best about ourselves and our contemporaries. Industry without play is more likely to be mean, blind and destructive. For industry without play lacks appreciation for our humanity and the wonder that is life.

Hope to have the music to this posted later this year. Hope you find this motivating. I’d love to hear some of your thoughts regarding my music. So please, listen to some of the songs and read the lyrics. I always have felt my music expresses my world better than my posts.

Jim Guido

In the US there have been two truisms regarding home ownership. One is that owning a house is the American dream and the other is that it is the major asset and investment of average US citizens.

During the last real estate boom a record percentage of US citiezens were labeled as home owners. Most home ownership estimates hovered around 70 percent.

Yet, this type of statistic is highy misleading. By homeowner they are saying anyone with a mortgage. Yet, as recent events have clearly demonstrated no person truly owns a house until the mortgage is paid off. Until such time the bank or finance company is actually the owner.

Now, the current home ownership as defined as anyone having a mortgage has declined over the last couple of years. So it would be safe to say that somewhere between 60% and 2/3 of the populace have a mortgage. Yet, statistics also claim that over 2/3 of people who have a home, have a mortgage. This means that somewhere between 75 and 80% of people in the US either do not have a home or do not officially own one until they pay off the balance of their mortgage. That being the case it is really more accurate to say that one in five, or 20% of Americans own a home.

When you consider the fact that the majority of people who own their home did so by successfully paying off a 30 year mortgage you logically have to reduce the percentage of people who live in a home owned by its inhabitants. The majority of homes in which the owner’s of the home paid off a 30 year mortgage are typically one or two person abodes. Such people are retired or are near retired couples or individuals whose households are relatively empty. The younger families who have children seldom own the home outright and are saddled by larger mortgages. Therefore, when you factor this into the home ownership equation I would say that less than 1 in 5 people live in homes with no mortgage. In other words, it would be more accurate to say that less than 20% of Americans are truly home owners, or inhabitants of privately owned homes.

This is a far cry from the near 70% home ownership that our government and media claim exists.We have never been the nation of home owners that we have espoused to be.

Though this exaggeration has existed for some time, the escalating rate of foreclosures and mortgage defaults is highlighting this fact.  We are a nation of bank owned homes, not a land of privately owned homes.

The other misrepresentation is in how profitable of an investment a home is. The sale of a mortgage free home is not the golden egg that it is cracked up to be.

A 30 year mortgage is more the rule than the exception, and the typical 30 year mortgage is usually a steep expense. In most cases a home buyer will have spent over three times the original purchase price of the home in principle and interest over the life of the mortgage. This means that a person who takes out a mortgage on a $100,000 home will spend over $300,000 over the course of the 30 years of the loan.

This is not being said to imply that home ownership is a bad financial decision, but rather an attempt to put it in perspective. Home ownership is more about being able to get a majority of the money you spent back, rather than being a terrific investment vehicle.

Yet, the goal of this blog was just to point out something that is often missed, and that is that home ownership occurs at the end of a mortgage and not at its beginning. This post also encourages its readers to reconsider viewing home ownership as a potential investment gold mine. Yes, one can take advantage of hot real estate markets and flip houses as their prices rise. One can also make a solid income by buying older homes and making substantial improvements that selling the homes for a nice profit over what you put into it.

Yet, for most of us, and for most sane real estate markets buying a home is about making a life and not about making a killing.

Realizing all this long ago I made sure I paid off my house in 10 years rather than 30. Even in this poor real estate market, we would still be looking to make a profit if we sold our home. Yet, we love our home and the thought of selling it is not something we ever really consider.

Jim Guido