BubbleOpener

Skipping the bonus does not solve the problem; Dancing does

John van Trijp — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:34:54 +0000

Everybody is familiar since the credit crunch with the messages about top bankers and other CEO’s who receive bonuses of often millions of dollars and more. And we are all against it as we all have that distinct ethical feeling “there must be some wrong” in financial fairy tale land. True, there is something wrong when only a few receive a lot and a lot receive only a few.

In response society is calling out for action: extra taxes on bonuses or skipping the bonus at all. O.k., we all think problem solved let’s return to our daily routine. Since when do we believe in fairy tales? Yes, when we were kids fairy tales were the preferred we to tell us something about society but as adults we have an extra mile to go beyond fairy tale land. Skipping bonuses (or taxing them away) is just similar to get rid of the smoke without quenching the fire that causes the smoke. Get the picture? We just try to wipe out a symptom instead of dealing with the cause itself and believe it or not we are happy with it. In the mean time all the bonuses will find an alternative way as the recipients will not let go of it. It results in a fight no one can win.

The true solution is recognizing what causes this behavior. It is the behavior of the individual who is at the top of the pyramidal structure we all support. Removing this individual from office or denying a bonus does not change the model as taking the top of a pyramid reveals a new top of that very same pyramid. Only changing our love for pyramids will give what we all need: a dynamic society where everybody had it place based on the possibility of moving and dancing instead of getting immobilized somewhere in the pyramid.

Moving and dancing is done by telling yourself everybody is part of society without fixed jobs, without fixed positions and we are our own master. This implies we see others as masters as well, taking control over their own life without interfering with others’ (and your) life. Difficult you may say or even impossible to do. I do not agree as the natural world around shows us daily how to do this. Every plant, animal or being has a place (niche) and occupies it as long as time ask it to do. When the role to be played or danced is fulfilled the plant, animal or being (or even the complete species) disappears or is changed (evolution) according to what needs to be learned.
It is no surprise nowadays many feel the need to leave a job or are forced out of a job by circumstances. It provides ample opportunity to start an activity of your own where one can find a lot of satisfaction. When you do what your heart tells you to do fulfillment is there and you start to master your own life and Life shall treat you well. Ultimately the pyramid is left behind and traded for the Dance where you are the performer like all other plants, animals and beings do on Earth.

Master or manager, what is it going to be?

John van Trijp — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:16:25 +0000

Many think when being a manager it is the ultimate fulfillment of one’s wishes and dreams. The more people they manage the better it is and the larger the bonus and other fringe benefits will be. Not to mention of course the more than generous pay check that lands every fortnight on the doormat. As mentioned manager tend to manage people. Aside from the legitimate question if it is possible to manage people (I say people manage themselves and cannot be managed) let us take a look at the position of a manager.

This individual is always on top of a small or bigger group of employees who are directly responsible to the manager. In fact when it is drawn on the infamous white board something like a triangle appears. Which is the most simple form of… you may guess it already: the pyramid. An important aspect is that the manager must stay in control of everybody that is below him in the pyramid or he may lose his position and the paycheck, the bonus and the fringe benefits. Managers don’t want that to happen. One thing to make sure this does not happen is to block anyone of your employees to climb to the top of the pyramid. So the Human Resource Department is asked to make a job description for everybody in the pyramid. One has to fulfill all the requirements or the employee may lose his position in the pyramid to a lower rank or even worse: be expelled from the pyramid with a job termination as the logical result. Due to the strict job description it is not possible to advance in the ranks; the best possible result is to remain on the same level supporting the manager in his position at the top. However, something similar is applicable to the manager. There is always somebody controlling him. It may be a CEO or shareholders or a politician or a voter… The manager is never sure of his position at the top and the possibility of tumbling down is always present. Hence, the fear for loss and the enormous kind of self content and greed we see nowadays in our world to compensate this fear for loss. The conclusion is this system is not sustainable and doomed to fall apart. Isn’t it today it will be tomorrow taking away everyone’s basic securities (lower threshold of the Maslow Pyramid).

A Master on the other hand is someone who possesses inner wisdom. He knows and does not believe and stands apart of the pyramid system. This inner wisdom is created by not believing, asking questions, listening to answers and putting the answers into reality. All generated and created from within and totally independent of a boss – follower construction (which is similar to manager – employee). Hence, a Master shall never experience fear for loss as the inner wisdom is fully internalized. Inner wisdom is accessible to all who want to step out of the pyramidal system and stop believing in a religious model full with ideas, dogmas of others and hence, of the past. By religious model I mean pyramidal models where there is always someone on top who tries to dictate behavior by conventions. On the other hand a Master is free to choose how and when to live and makes his own decisions based on true love. What a difference with the daily struggle of the manager which ultimo does not give fulfillment but fear for life.

What is it going to be: Master or manager?????????????

The Myth of an Endless Amount of Money

John van Trijp — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:28:04 +0000

With a regular pace I see e-mails and invitations pouring in on either my desk or on the wide screen of my computer. All with happy stories how with a minimal effort I can quadruple the contents of my bank account. Very tempting I must say, but as always: there is a snag and it is very important to understand why this does not work on the long run.
Suppose it does work, it means everybody on earth has the possibility to increase their bank account, where does this come from. In fact it comes from other people who experience a decrease of their bank account. Oops, that is not what we want do we? Ask yourself the following question “how can I get more money, while other do the same?”. I say “it is not possible”. In the current monetary system money flows from one point to another; just like energy does. In fact money is part of our material world and symbolizes this world: it provides access and security in and to this material world. Everybody wants more and more access and security, what is new? As stated earlier, this is not possible! Suppose I create a vast amount of money let’s say € 1,000,000.00 the consequence is that somewhere else in the world this same amount disappears. Not as a total sum, but more like € 1.00 for one million people as an individual. You may argue that governments may print extra bills in order to create more money. True, but the value of those bills will decrease. To provide the much wanted access and security one needs more of those bills (inflation!).
In fact, one may even argue it is a kind of Ponzi Scheme (Pyramid Game) where the rich try to get richer by “generous gifts” of the lesser rich (or poor). In the end this will always blow up on our face in order to establish a new balance. Those with excessive funds will lose and those without will benefit. No one likes to lose and everyone likes to gain. Realizing this we are back at the beginning of this story…
I state the total amount of money in our world is fixed and cannot become more or less whatever trick we like pull out of our sleeve.
The only thing that varies is where the money is and how it floats, not the amount. Now you know why the Greek society has to return all the money they have received in abuse of all regulations. Yes, return and NOT receive more as this will support the imbalance even further. The local variety of the Euro (let us say “Greuro”) is worth less than the German variety of the Euro (“Geuro”) and the only thing to do is to accept this fact and accept there is no single Euro. Just local varieties. To balance out the Greuro is to be devaluated and the Geuro is not. Impossible in the current situation one may say. Yes I agree, the solution lies in accepting one cannot have more money than one is in balance with. This also counts for countries. So either we accept things like a Greuro or Geuro and we accept that nations and individuals always want more and more and never want to balance out to make the equation or we create a single Europe as one country with one federal government.
O.k. back to basics: pursuing getting more and more money is pursuing a myth as eventually all the money has to be returned to balance the equation.
So think twice before you embark on a quest so nicely envisaged by brochures, e-mails or sales people: to receive one has to pay, this is the logic consequence of our monetary system, as said earlier this is a Pyramid System. Being on top of the Pyramid always implies others have to support you and they will not do so in the long run: money must flow, bubbles must break, countries must default: no escape possible as the BALANCE rules.

Reshuffling the Pyramid Society

John van Trijp — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:53:26 +0000

From a daily perspective one sees only the major crisis in the financial system. When remembering my former blog “The Pyramid Society” you know money is a pyramid currency. In Europe with its Eurozone money was available in full abundance. In fact it gave every participating country the feeling the were on top of things… Reality unveils what this truly means: greed, greed and greed again to stay on top. Because of the Pyramid everyone seems to forget the simple principle of sustainability. A principle well known in the world of environmental sciences and introduced by the Brundlandt Report. As a direct result of this principle one can readily see being on top can only be achieved for a limited period of time and implies others cannot be on top. How different the current Eurozone situation is… where this is not the case.
Sustainability means:
not taking out more than is put in
accept one cannot always be on top
accept the dynamics of the system
no cookie jar behavior… cookies will run out leaving others with emptiness
…
The new society should be sustainable and create fullness from the inside by fostering the creative aspect of men instead robbing from the outside to leave a barren waste land.
Forget the Pyramids… they have been there too long a time and embrace the new dynamics of sustainability.
It starts with the acceptance we are all equal and no one is more equal than others.

True sustainability… look at nature for inspiration!

The Pyramid Society

John van Trijp — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 11:33:57 +0000

When we look at modern day Western Society we see in all kinds and shapes the very same Pyramids… You don’t see them? O.k. let’s give me some clarification. Pyramids point skywards, to the cosmos. I found out they show a society based on a Master / Slave configuration, or in today’s words: Manager / Servant. At the top the Manager is located (what is new) supported by his servants / workers. In fact, the Manager can only be at the top because of this support. Nowadays easily forgotten by many Managers and any other kind of similar function ranging from a political one to an economical one. The Egyptian Pyramids were build to express the ideas of society living at that particular period of time: Pharaohs and High Priests have the largest as they controlled many people. Watch the word “controlled” as this exactly shows us what was going on then and is still going on today. Many individuals (at least I hope they are more than just humans and possess some individuality) are needed to support current western society. The better one is doing so the more money one receives (a Pyramid currency), the more praise one receives (higher esteem) and when all goes well, the higher one gets in the Pyramid society of today. But… when one threatens the position of the Manager one is kicked off the pyramid unless one has acquired many supporters to prevent this. A revolt may start (look at present day situation in Libya, Syria, Egypt and even Israel) just to trade in the old pyramid for one new… An endless and pointless road only leading to destruction instead of creation. My point is proven many times in history so far and dates back to our love for the society of the Ancient Egyptians. Recently Swiss researchers found many people in Europe have genes related to the Pharaohs (http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/08/01/idINIndia-58566520110801) so, the idea is simple: we remember and try to recreate the past (the past is similar to the Cosmos – that is why Egyptians were so much interested in the Cosmos).

One may ask the following questions: Why is it we live in modern day society and feel it so difficult to maintain our self? Why is it we like to build high rise structures? Why is it we have such a nag for control? Why is it we like to believe instead of to know? Why is it what others say is more important than what you say? What is needed…?

The Rule of the Street – New School

John van Trijp — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:45:16 +0000

Many major cities in current societies suffer from gangs intimidating local people and spreading crime in the neighborhood. The most common reaction one can observe is a crackdown of local law enforcement on those gangs in order to restore the peace. The question we may ask our self today if this approach works. I dare to say it does not. On the contrary, when a gang (or more than just a gang) move into the neighborhood their prime objective is to control and possess the territory. Any individual or organization originally there is either intimidated to leave, pay tribute or ultimately eliminated. Of course from the view of local law enforcement and politicians it is obvious this deviant behavior should be dealt with… with the aforementioned result.

I like to suggest a different approach. Before or during the initial stage of infiltration of criminal elements into the neighborhood I strongly suggest we empower the local population so they will not give way but show resilience to the criminal gangs and individuals. For this it is necessary to support and develop strong ties and bonds between the locals and the neighborhood; make the local population aware of their own fears and learn how to deal with those fears. Furthermore, town officials should be visible and easy to get in touch with to show and enhance confidence. When the local population dares to speak out and act accordingly (no playing dumb or deaf but assertive) with strong support of town officials, things may turn a different way.

Of course, we have a long way to go as the Americas differ from Europe for instance regarding the nature, intensity of the crimes and the ways crimes are dealt with. Still, I have a strong feeling criminals will not as easy gain a foothold in a community when the local people know how to break silence and by being assertive at the first sign of criminal intrusion. One thing is crucial to succeed:

Unconditional active and passive support by local officials and politicians!

The Rule of the Street – New School may save us millions of dollars just by being proactive.

Who dares?

Dumping of Waste: the first sign of things going wrong

Science; Perception instead of Truth

John van Trijp — Fri, 06 May 2011 07:56:39 +0000

Over the years I have as an energy reader worked with many people, including First Nation People. The First Nation People showed me they work with Mother Earth as their primary source of knowledge, White people work with knowledge from the Cosmos and as such both groups of people do not understand the wisdom generated by the other, giving rise to all kind of conflicts. I understand the energy of Mother Earth as the energy of the unborn Present. The energy of the Cosmos is understood by me as the Present deceased. In other words, White people work with the past and science is the art of unraveling the known (= Past) to create greater insight in what was in order get closer to what is (the Present). First Nation People work with that what waits to be used in a creation (the unborn Present) and see and experience this as their science of Life. Both are complementary to each other and are working around the infinite short moment of creation. As such there is no difference in science but only a different approach to understand the Present without being in the Present and as such are of equal value. I see the true challenge for all of us in being in the Present as it combines all in one (= three). This is what I perceive as the focal point where all Peoples remember, recognize and start to co-create to generate NEW knowledge (NEW Science) to ad to what is to become what was…

As Living As Readers Allow; the new ALARA principle

John van Trijp — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 12:17:39 +0000

In the world of safety the ALARA principle is well known (As low as reasonably achievable), but recent experiences made me define this acronym in a whole new way. On LinkedIn I received from someone, somewhere in my network (2^nd degree) each day a “Quote of the Day”. Nice and juicy one may think to have a fresh start of the day. Those quotes were copied from philosophers and other remarkable individuals in history like Jung. The quote from Jung drew my attention and read as follows “To be aware of myself I need to be distinct from others. Only with this distinction in place, there can be a relationship”. Nice, really nice but it made me wonder why I received this unsolicited information that was old and did not contain any real message with new insights or information. So I posted a comment “Dear …., this is a quote from Jung, what is your opinion?”. She “What I think is not so much of interest. I just present the quotes, so one can think”. This answer just amazed me as I know this individual presents herself as coach and a reader/healer practitioner with many years of reflective study. The conversation developed as follows; me “When you want the reader to think you have to think yourself as well. Real insight start with yourself and not with others”. She “Dear John, do you really think I present quotes without having thought about the quotes? What is it you want to tell me?”. Me “When you present readers with (unsolicited!) quotes from others to let people think, you just step into the loophole of repetition and this is dead energy. Only when you present your new and original view you add something to the whole: living energy. What you are doing here is starting a life and death cycle by presenting quotes from others to others; which can only by definition be sustainable when you co-create instead of copying as you do now”.

Again she amazed me as I found all comments deleted the next day… Nevertheless I added another one only to see it was deleted again “The deletion of a comment brings to mind who is aware: the one that deletes or the one that comments… By the way, all comments have been stored by me and by Akasha”. The reader may guess what happened next: the comment was deleted again.

It brings me to the title of this blog. When in a discussion things start to become alive, energy flows, new insights are co-created, people warm up and a real exchange of new living energy is experience: the gift of discussion! Until someone finds the result of the discussion getting too close to old personal beliefs which may not be touched or experienced and all goes dead. The cycle so nicely started just dies off and the moment of personal truth is passed by…. This is just what happened in the mentioned discussion I had on LinkedIn: it started up but died before it ever started up. Why? Because the essence of the discussion got to close to the beliefs of the reader and she did not want to accept the concept of birth and death, gather and let go: the concept of co-creation.

However, something good did turn up… she brought me in touch with the concept of ALARA – As Living As Readers Allow.

Comments welcome, now you know why!

Where does the hand go?

John van Trijp — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:05:17 +0000

Men / gentlemen(?) seem to have a habit of putting their hands in their pocket when they are “on display”. As a personal coach with a rich European history (The Netherlands) I feel it makes an awkward impression on readers, visitors, business partners or women. When I am correct, uniform wearers like the military, are strictly prohibited from using the pockets. So, the correct posture is known in this society. Why still doing this? The textbooks suggest it is all about insecurity and it shows in the body language involved.

When men want to be gentlemen in business with all the necessary skills to trade with partners abroad, the first thing to do is to attend to their body language. To do so, one needs to be aware of oneself. Hence, know yourself first before you can be empathic to your clients needs. It is so easy to look at the outside world and write comments about how Atlantic Canada may or may not behave. The true challenge lies within and once mastered it gives infinite insight in the world!

From I-llnes to WE-llness: how off balance can we be!

John van Trijp — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 11:16:14 +0000

Today I stumbled upon the website of the World Day of Interconnectedness 101010 (http://www.interconnectedness101010.org/).

It celebrates for the 2nd time in a row the day of interconnectedness and calls for joining the movement from I-llness to WE-llness. One thing really stands out to me that is the acronym “I-llness” as in contrast to “WE-llness”. Checking out the website shows many people and organizations support the idea of interconnectedness. But who in Earths sake came up with the idea of I-llness????????????????

“I” as in “I AM” should never be connected with the word illness. By doing so we proclaim ourselves, our individual being as an illness: something to overcome and be healed from. Is this really what we want???

I (yes, I!) am convinced and know we have the true and intrinsic birth right to be. Nothing more, and nothing less for “I” represents one side of the balance we make part of as an individual.

The other side of the balance is, you may have guessed already “WE”. Both, I and WE are equally important as they interact every second of our life. This interaction by the way, (the movement/swing of the balance in fact) creates new integrative energy which I see as one of the three basic fundamentals:

I + WE = IWE

Never, I repeat NEVER, can we grow, live or be as a human being without respecting these tree basic fundamentals. Our true destination in life is growing by creation (= IWE) and not amputating part of the equation by removing “I” which leaves us totally off-balance in self denial.

Rethink, better re-feel what interconnectedness truly means and you may conclude interconnectedness means also interconnectedness with I…