Wow Bhairitu I can relate to everything you have just written. I left MIU in 1978/79... Then it was a different place. Today I think of what it would be like to live there again. Yet the one factor that has not changed is the cold weather. I can say that having lived in warm climates most of the last 30 years, I have come to appreciate cold. I will never forget walking one extremely cold and clear night and feeling the lightness of the winter air. That was the first time I felt the density of the air. I could see why people like the cold. I have young children now ages 3 and 11 and for educational reasons I sometimes believe FF is more ideal.
Having lived in places like Helsinki where it became more expensive after the Euro, and Estonia where the cost of living did not change everytime the dollar went up or down, I have found great pleasure in living in places where people care more for people than for how much money they can make. One thing you mentioned is the value of things and money. I have had my share of things in the last 30 years but I have had a an ocean of money. Ocean why? Because it comes and goes, sometimes there is a lot and sometimes there is very little. This has been my experience even while attending MIU. Money does not have very much to do with Prosperity. I have many friends who have had lots more money then I, but they have been enslaved by what they did to make money. They became enslaved by things and STATUS, I love Status but I have not learned to sacrifice life for it. In stead I climb up the ladder and fall down up....and down. To the point that down has become a lot less painful because I always know I will go back up again. Even I have ventured to live in other countries without the trauma of how I would live because I became certain of my ability to create. In the last 10 years I have had many opportunities to put my theory to task. I have lived in Venezuela, Brazil, Finland, and Estonia, with short visits to Paris and the US. In each place my ability to adjust and create had been challenged. The most greatly challenging has been Brazil. Although in Venezuela I was invited to do a one month consulting job for pay by a person I later found was a manic depressive. So after three months, through the grace of Sai Baba I created a miracle of a consulting job which paid me cash plus the promise of a sizable commission. I did not like Venezuela so much, so I did not stay I found my way to Brazil instead. Yet the money was not my reason for leaving. I was looking for a place that would give me spiritual as well as environmental fulfillment and Venezuela is lacking in the spiritual area. So I moved to Brazil. Belem do Para is a city in Brazil that has environmental beauty as well as quality of heart. I was fortunate. I arrived with 300 USD and I was able to turn that into giving to a new purpose over $100,000.00 working with homeless children. The point is prosperity is not only in how much money one has. It is not so easy as voila here I am Louis McKenzie I think I am prosperous and then out of the sky money comes falling into my lap. Instead it has been a constant proving and testing of my commitment to living. In Venezuela it was not until I chose to make change that things got better for me. Until that time I was living at the hands and charity of others. Which was not why I went or in accord with why and how I went there. One day I got tired and decided I would sleep on a park bench if need be but I was not going to sleep or live in the situation I been living in any longer. I stayed a week in a sex motel. They cost as low as 10,000 bolivres per night. I was able to pay the hotel and eat everyday. Then I moved to a 3 star hotel. Until finally I landed in a six bedroom apartment which was like a Sai Baba Temple, pictures in every room. I guess what I learned was that I could trust God to provide for me no matter what. I developed the courage to jump off the cliff and land in God. In Belem I lived in an old art deco vagabond hotel when I arrived. By the time I rented a house, I occupied a floor of the hotel having started a ONG to work with children. I would hold my weekly meetings in this hotel so my need for space grew as the group did. It was due to the quality of heart of the people in Belem that I was able to have success. I moved to a beautiful 4 bedroom house in a very romantic part of city. Cidade Velho was very beautiful and very near the river an extension of the Amazon not for swimming due to ships and other pollutives. Belem(Cidade Velha) is a city that will always be in my heart, because it is like living in a city on the costa del sol or maybe a financially less advantaged part of southern france like Nice. So I began working with a foundation, International Seva Foundation for Children, which was basically a group of foreign investors that needed a social program in order to qualify for certain investment programs. We created a group of nearly 200 professionals, designed programs, taught people to use computers, educated people to TM, Sai Baba, Pedagogy of Waldorf, we taught doctors about home birth and the value of. We designed clinics that would offer 5 star treatment for people regardless of economic condition. We clothed and designed education facilities for children. As we were about to open a small orphanage with all kinds of things kids love the challenges arose and we had to stop. But not before sending 4 Brazilian women from Belem do Para to India to participate in a world education conference sponsored by Unicef in education in Human Values. When the investors objective did not work as planned, they of course stopped the extra curricular. So it was time to create new avenues for income. Again it was time to step out and trust that God would provide. I created a consulting job in Finland in the winter of 2001. (Yuck) It gets dark at 3 pm and is never sunny in the winter in finland. The people that invited me had big dreams and small pockets. They claimed to have a bank instrument that would pay for the building of a port in an Estoinan town, while sitting in the office of an ex KGB I learned that most of what I had been told was not so. Having gone so far I was determined to make things work. It took 10 months and a lot of adventure for me to figure out the Baltic was not my place. Yet I moved to many situations some fantastic, some not so great. I went from not knowing Helsinki to loving Tallinn (Estonia) to learning the beauty of Finland, spiritual revelation and a never ending desire to return to Brazil. I went from working with Bank instruments, to designing a port, to setting up a public offerings, to teaching workshops that were designed to allow people to experience their inner spiritual HEritage. I went from business mind to shaman and doing yagyas using eggs and the forrest. Finland is a BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY... I got to see just how I see racism and why I can see it so clearly. I got to see that I may be a master at seeing racism. Why? Because I got to see how I turn every thing to race. This was separating me from my own happiness. When I got to see things from the other guys perspective I saw a lot less racism and was actually able to find the beauty. Finally my time in Finland came to an end. I returned to the US. I have always been able to find my baring in New York city. I learned early that it was safe For me to arrive with nothing and raise up in New York. This time NYC and NJ were very tense places. I left after two weeks. I returned to Brazil. Rio De Janeiro with 5.00 USD now this was a challenge. I was determined to finish what I had started in Brazil. I learned to live on 1.00 USD per day. I had a hotel that was 2 star one block from the beach in Copa Cabana. I got to see what it was like to be just a step from one of the many homeless in Brazil. I cried as I thought about the cars I had in US. The dry cleaners that kept my white shirts white and well starched. I missed being able to eat where ever when ever. I missed credit cards and movies. I missed Marina Del Rey, I cried to the ocean many days wondering just how long I could go before I would just walk right into that water and keep walking till.......... Through the grace of God I found what I had come to Brazil for in those days. I found a TM center, a Sai Baba center and IFA, IFA is the Yoruba(West African Tribe) form of the VEDA. This I had known I would find in Brazil from age 17. In Belem they knew of Cundomble but not IFA. Which is like someone saying they are Jain but not knowing what is Veda. Soon things turned around again. I moved to an apartment. I began translating for guys (who had come to Brasil for sex) to Brazilian women negotiating their arrangements. I would set up tourist trips for people, and rent out apartments. Things began to change. By the spring of 2003 which was 6 months after I had returned in October 2002. I had turned things for the better. In June of 2003 I moved to Sao Paulo, I liked Sao Paulo at first because it is like a first world city. Giorgio Armani, Bally, Bang and Olufson, Versaci all the things I love. Cartier, Rollex, Ferrari, Mercedes wow! From 2003 to present I accumulated and spent more than $1,000,000 USD. Most was invested some for personal, the bottom line stepping out in faith I was able to achieve more than ever. I invested money lots of money into business efforts which seem to be paying off. I do not like Sao Paulo as much as Belem but I am here doing what I believe God would have me do. Am I rich with lots of things? No, not today. Yet I live an OK life. I have become expert at making lemonade. Also in utilizing my resources. Today I am in a challenging moment because I am on the verge of receiving payment. We shall see how things go. My point as my friend Denny who lives in Maryland would say. He lives in a million dollar home, drives a beautiful leased mercedes and owns 100 construction vehicles. He would say Louis is not successful and how could he have done all that he says and have nothing to show for it? Denny has lived in Maryland all of his life. Has worked the same business for 20+ years and has been to Europe once, with me. Bottom line everyone finds what makes them happy. I would like to retire one day in Santorini or Mykonos, live part time in a yacht and part in a small house on a hill with beautiful view of the sea. I would love to buy fresh food in the morning and sit and drink coffee while I watch the market. For me this is ideal. In California I have found beach cities that have quality of life and all of the meditator delights, like vegetarin pizza, exotic vegi restaurants, and yogic gardins like that of Yogananda in Encinitas and Pac Pal. Yet these places are very expensive. With the dollar dropping as it has, it is better to find places where you can have the highest with less strain. I have always wondered about Santa Fe, or Sedona but as you say the only thing I could do in these places is write or since most of what I do is via internet it might work. For me the best places to do these things in Cali of course would be Monterey, or Napa Valley within distance of Harbon Hotsprings. Or the Cape in Mass. , or Cape May in New Jersey, THe US is a very beautiful wonderful country that I have had the grace to be able to experience much of. Yet I think George Bush and people like him have done a lot to make it more difficult to live there. In fim the World is a beautiful place. I thank God for what I have experienced of it. I may not be the richest guy, or the smartest but I am grateful for who I am, and what I have been able to do. If I am lucky one day I will return to Fairfield, have a stay at the Raj, and see all the wonderful things that exist in the town that served pizza cut in tiny squares with cracker crust, and a total african american population of less than 20 persons when I arrived. Perhaps I will get to see what it is like to fly in the domes for a month, or have all the ideal things of the new age such as organic food in all restaurants. That must be incredible. Today I am in Sao Paulo, learning to create heaven on earth not just for me but for a few others as well. Like a race horse at the gate I sit waiting for the release of funding so I can have even just a glimpse of what it is like to have created what Maharishi did in the movement. The idea of getting on an airplane with 5.00 USD in pocket and turning that to a world wide movement that would be worth billions it something that has been a great inspiration for me. Something about A hermit in the house.......... --- Bhairitu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > TurquoiseB wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, > "dhamiltony2k5" > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > >> Thanks for making this point Jeffry. In > dismissing FF you (& others > >> do it too) assume that wealth is happiness. Yet > there are a lot of > >> folks living very fine lives as > 'transcendentalists' here living > >> under the wealth standard you are applying. > >> > > > > An excellent point, and one that isn't emphasized > > enough about places that one moves to for their > > "vibe quotient" rather than their money-making > > potential. > > > > I have this thing about living in or near "power > > places." I stupidly picked up and moved to Santa > > Fe, New Mexico for that very reason, unaware of > > the local one-liner, "What can you get for under > > five dollars in Santa Fe? A job." :-) > > > > Some of the lowest wages in the nation, but the > > "vibe quotient" balanced things out for me, and > > I was able to find ways to make more money by > > telecommuting and real commuting. > > > > Since then I've lived in Paris (a disappointment, > > vibe quotient-wise), and that was fairly expen- > > sive, although only about half per month as I > > had paid for my living expenses in, say, New York > > or L.A. or Chicago. Then I moved to a remote > > village in France where the cost of living was > > about a tenth per month as those cities. Now I > > live in a place where the cost of living is about > > a third of those cities. > > > > Are any of these places (excluding Paris) where > > one would want to live if one's focus is making > > money? Not on a bet! Another Santa Fe one-liner > > is, "How do you make a million dollars in Santa > > Fe? Arrive with two million." :-) > > > > But some places more than make up for their lack > > of "money-making quotient" with their "vibe > > quotient" and "quality of life quotient." From > > what I've heard of Fairfield on this forum, it > > is one of those places. Its quality of life does > > not depend on the TMO (thank god); it stands on > > its own. And from what I've heard, living in an > > area where the monthly cost of living is low has > > the benefit of adding to your "discretionary > > income." If you have money "left over" every > > month, you can save it up for a SV house, if you > > want one, or for other things. > > > > Through another forum I'm still in touch with a > > few of the former Rama (Frederick Lenz) students. > > A lot of them are still on the "how much money > > you make is an indicator of your level of personal > > power" trip that he used to espouse, and thus > > they still live in New York and L.A. and Chicago > > and the SF Bay area. > > > > They make more money than I do, every last one > > of them. But when this subject comes up, I ask > > them what percentage of the money they make each > > month they get to keep or use as discretionary > > income. It's usually in the range of 5-10%. I may > > live in a backwater beach town in Spain that isn't > > where *anyone* who wanted to make a million bucks > > would ever live, but I get to keep about 75% of > > my monthly income. > > > > Plus I get to live in a neat place that offers me > > benefits I can't get in a big city. Like living in > > a psychic atmosphere that isn't "polluted" with > > the thoughts of millions of people who, sadly, are > > not the happiest of campers. Like not having to > > worry about random street crime. Ever. Like having > > cheap medical care. So living in the boonies > *works* > > for me, and I can completely understand why living > > in Fairfield *works* for many of the people here. > > > > Do we all have little things that we *bitch* about > > with regard to our chosen "high vibe quotient" > > places to live? You betcha. But are any of those > > things we bitch about enough to cause us to move? > > Not hardly. > Making money is mainly a product of one's karma. > Even if you have great > skills that are "in demand" it may be hard to make > the connection to get > compensated for it. So many fields, especially in > the entertainment > medium, are high competition and very political. It > becomes who you > know and being in the right place at the right time > (Bill Gates is a > great example). Of course we can say that about > gaining wealth to > begin with. A Harvard study a few years back > concluded that people > became rich out of "luck." We here might say that > "luck" is karma. > > It was also interesting to watch "nouveau rich" > folks types become > corrupted. One person I now promised to share the > wealth of his company > with his employees as it grew and became successful > but was dissuaded > from doing so by a "corporate consultant" when > success came and thus > earned a dark spot in the minds of many of the > people who worked hard to > put the company there. > > We also find people who believe that wealthy people > are the most evolved > and intelligent among us but I can say from > experience that is not true > at all. Some are just blindly greedy and (if you > believe in > reincarnation) may pay the price in lifetimes to > come. I've often > wondered that these "think and go rich" schemes like > "The Secret" may > result in the practitioner in robbing his wealth > from future lifetimes. > > The best situation right now for most folks here > would be to live as > simply and as "uncluttered" as you can. I know it > isn't easy as I keep > trying to downsize all the crap I have in this house > and sometimes just > wish I had the extra expendable income to just hire > some folks to come > in and put things in stacks that I can point at and > say "I'll keep that > and you can throw out or recycle the rest." I think > that being lean and > mean with little or no debt is the best position to > be in at this time. > After all "you can't take it with you." > > PS: I almost missed this thread because of the > hijacking. "Dome > Numbers" is so "retro" and of little interest to me. > :D > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > To subscribe, send a message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Or go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ > and click 'Join This Group!'Yahoo! Groups Links > > > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ You rock. 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