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The Story:
In 1992, Steve Albini wrote his famous piece, “The Problem with Music”, giving the graphic image of a bunch of hungry artists clambering through a trench full of excrement in order to vy for a recording contract with uncertain and questionable terms. He explained how the music industry is full of a special kind of corruption, that takes advantage of the very people which make the entire industry possible by providing them with a healthy line of credit, then selling them back all the services needed to create an album at an extremely inflated price. One figure that has been thrown around is that record companies, on average, have a 5% success rate – 5% of all records go gold or platinum, and 95% well, they don’t. In any other industry, that would send a company down shit creek pretty fast, but in the record industry, most of the costs are borne by the artist, making the record label a rather undesirable business partner.
Music is a powerful tool in manipulating minds. Might some unscrupulous A&Rs decide to change how people think, act, what they glorify? Perhaps by using overt themes in music, or perhaps even by subliminal messages. There might be a lot of pressure on record labels from certain nefarious and hidden interests.
Now of course, the music industry has been forced to change, under the pressure of Internet piracy and the decay of copyright laws as any meaningful deterrent. But that is a story for another time… For now, let’s explore how the music industry screwed over many artists as we journey through another exciting episode of … The Paradise Paradox!
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The Story:
Every year in Guadalajara, they hold the Romería festival, and every year the danzantes dance from the Cathedral in the city centre, all the way to the Basílica in Zapopan. It can be tough walking five kilometres, even more so when you’re taking two steps forward and one step back, and tougher still when the construction of a new subway line forces you to take a fifteen kilometre detour.
Aaron had some interesting experiences, preparing his costume, trying to find all the right feathers for an (more or less) authentic native American headdress, and dancing himself into a trance for an intense journey that might end up binding him to the Earth Father Tlaltecuhtli, Our Lady of Guadalupe, or the Virgin of Zapopan.
Join us as we put our feet to the concrete in another exciting adventure of … The Paradise Paradox!
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The Story:
Alternate realities, parallel dimensions, inner and outer worlds, this is all crazy talk, at least it seems that way. Until one has a first hand experience of something weird, something not quite right, something that cannot be explained. Where things just don’t add up and it can’t be helped, you feel obliged to tell all your friends, even if they are not interested, just a glitch in the matrix they said. Followed by laughs of course.
Everyone is involved in interpreting, creating and controlling their reality. The funny thing is very few of us are aware of it. The great religion of science is doing well in catching up, where many theories are constantly being tested. It is often said that at best we only use 8-10 percent of our brain, leaving many asking the question, How do we activate the other 90 percent? and those who don’t ask may be at 6-8 percent. A quick investigation illustrates this to be completely false.
Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist created a structural model of the human psyche, often informally referred to as, the consciousness iceberg metaphor. This 5-10 percent of active brain function can be interpreted as an immediate awareness of consciousness. Where the remainder brain function is very much active, however unconscious and therefore one unaware of it.
There is too much information in the matrix to be processed, so one adopts a level of perception – this is our personal construct or reality filter. Perception is limited by what one is conscious of, or what the mind can process. We are constantly bombarded by infinite information, here our unconscious mind selects what is relevant for our conscious mind to process and therefore our immediate reality. This becomes the personal world that is generated which one operates in.
This knowledge is not all that fresh. A movement coined ‘New Age’ is made up of people striving to stretch and grow their immediate awareness, striving to expand the capacity of absorbed reality. This new age movement has inspired all types of life connoisseurs, creating music, films, activities and lifestyles. This is the practice of mindfulness, which traditionally includes many activities like meditation, yoga, tai chi and various activities of relaxation. In turn expanding ones immediate awareness and lifting operating consciousness within moment to moment, individually witnessing one self with higher perception. Be careful with new vision there is a chance the view may not be favourable and appreciated. Stay calm, clear your mind and attempt not to judge, become your very own objective critic and build your new self.
This is the new reality, where one can watch the mind, then control, dismiss and explore their thoughts and feelings. Reactions can be experienced, modified and contemplated in real time. This is the real superpower and it is addictive. Be conscious of yourself via a detachment of all expectations and outcomes, and access the holy grail of personal power!
Now this becomes interesting by creating a multi player game, adding more minds and more players to the experience. Creating a collective reality in which we all operate in, this playing field – referred to as Earth, and we are a mixed bag of stars. Super heroes walk amongst the crowds changing and shifting realities as they wish. Others continue with no control over thoughts, feelings or reactions. Awareness is the new choice, to believe or no to believe in ourselves or others, understand that everyone is limited by their own personal perception, which will never be experienced by no one else by one, in this case you. We are not all living in the same reality and this is simply because we are all unique.
In this episode we discuss this phenomena with a few stories from personal experiences. So, maybe some people are invisible or can read minds, maybe there are those who can fly or talk to aliens or time travel, in their mind reality. We are our own super hero, choose your powers.
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The Story:
Many people poking around the Internet have been acutely aware that something big might happen around September 13th or September 23rd 2015, having watched Jeff Berwick’s Shemitah videos or read “The Harbinger”, or having calculated the days between financial collapses in the Wall Street “Seven Year Cycle”. Then the dates passed, and, depending where you were, it might have seemed like absolutely nothing happened. Another December 2012, another non-event, no end of the world and no financial collapse. However, when we look at the news a little more closely, we can see that something did happen, and the events may have put the world economy onto the edge of a precipice.
Sharemarket corrections occurred in the USA, the UK, Australia, and China, among others. Australia’s stockmarket has been plummeting down since April, and on September 29 the ASX 200 took a 3% hit, sending its price down below 5000 for the first time since July 2013. The market recovered, but still seem reminiscent of sudden recoveries that happened right before the Global Financial Crisis really set in.
A few months ago, the Greek government instated capital controls, preventing the flow of money, restricting withdrawals to 66 euros per day. A few days ago, the Chinese government took a similar measure, restricting transactions to 50,000 yuan ($7,800) from October 1st till the end of the year, and 100,000 yuan ($15,600) for the whole of 2016. Capital controls are commonly a desperate measure, an indication that a currency is failing – that too much damage has already been done. If Greece finds itself in such a position, and China finds itself in a similar position, shall we see the same fate for the rest of the PIIGS, and the rest of the BRICS?
It’s a great show, and if you’ve been smart, hopefully you don’t have front row seats, because people in the first three rows will get wet. Could we be heading for the next global financial crisis? We explore this economic rollercoaster on the next episode of … The Paradise Paradox!
[Edit: Kurt said in this episode that it’s not possible to buy physical silver in Russia, but it turns out that is inaccurate. Many Russian banks will sell silver certificates, or allocated holdings, but at certain branches you can also buy physical silver, and there are coin shops and online outlets as well.]
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The Cash:
We really appreciate all of your contributions! Every cent and satoshi we receive lets us know that we’re doing something worthwhile, that you are entertained by our program, and that you’re starting to question what you know more and more. Please be generous. Donate to The Paradise Paradox. Or buy some stuff on Amazon using this link.
The Story:
Walking or driving through your own city, you may have lived there for years, but it’s possible that your city holds secrets which you have no awareness of. Turn down the wrong street one day, and find yourself in some place exciting, or dangerous. Everything looks familiar, but everything looks a little strange. What mysteries are waiting for you, hiding within your own city, tucked away behind a facade, obscured from view by just the right wall or hill?
In th is episode we recount the tale of how we came to know the secret forest of Guadalajara, Colomos III, a garden of pedagogy maintained and improved by a horizontal organisation of volunteers, putting in all their effort to keep a slice of paradise tucked away in the city, winning the community’s attention and warding off the corrupt government, which is constantly trying to unjustly acquire and sell off the forest to cunning property developers.
What medicinal herbs can you find there? What is the value of the forest that the people living around it don’t yet understand? Who are those strange men who set up makeshift temples there after midnight? We ask all these questions and more, on the next thrilling chapter of … the Paradise Paradox!
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We really appreciate all of your contributions! Every cent and satoshi we receive lets us know that we’re doing something worthwhile, that you are entertained by our program, and that you’re starting to question what you know more and more. Please be generous. Donate to The Paradise Paradox. Or buy some stuff on Amazon using this link.
But now, thanks to organisations such as Cop Block, and most importantly, camera phones, it’s becoming increasingly obvious how bad police are, how they attack, sexually abuse and even kill people over some minor infraction, or even for apparently no reason at all.
For many gang members around the world, they see the police as nothing more than a gang, and even some police share this view, evidenced by this quote from Chief Inspector Kibblewhite of the London Metropolitan police: “You might have 100 people in your gang – we have 32,000 people in our gang. It’s called the Metropolitan Police.” The police are a gang, watching out for each other, never snitching, and with the court system behind them, they become a particularly dangerous gang, willing to push boundaries in ways that other gang members wouldn’t be willing to.
In this episode, we explore the issue, telling some personal stories of when we’ve encountered corrupt cops, and even in (relatively) quiet regional towns in Australia, getting mixed up with a police officer can be a violent and dangerous scenario. What are the causes of this type of behaviour? What are the alternatives? When are these fucking pigs going to leave us alone? We dance with the devil in the next exciting installment of … The Paradise Paradox!
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The Cash:
We really appreciate all of your contributions! Every cent and satoshi we receive lets us know that we’re doing something worthwhile, that you are entertained by our program, and that you’re starting to question what you know more and more. Please be generous. Donate to The Paradise Paradox. Or buy some stuff on Amazon using this link.
The Story:
Many people are content to cruise through life without thinking too deeply about things, without questioning their own motivations, focusing on personal development, formulating a long-term plan, developing a strategy and being as honest as they possibly can with the man in the mirror. Without introspection, self-analysis and self-knowledge, one can be lead down the wrong path, mislead by their culture, mass media, friends and family, dictated to about what is important without ever extending the glance beyond the veil, beyond the superficial.
As I once wrote:
“You better be really sure of who you are and what you want from yourself,
Because there’s a lot of people who’d prefer you be someone else.”
It’s no surprise that years later many people can wake up to a mid-life crisis, or worse, a death-bed crisis, realising that they’ve wasted their lives and being so far off-target, that they don’t even know how to get back to shore. The stereotype of a middle-aged man buying a sports car and dating a much younger, attractive and vapid woman is a tragic manifestation of this, the man trying to recapture his youth, while at the same time not really remembering what it means to be young, to be full of hope about making a better world, open to possibilities and having the audacity to confront established norms. A new Ferrari and a set of fake tits in your face doesn’t even qualify as a consolation prize.
What does it take to be successful? What does it mean to be successful? Who can help you be successful, and what is the real meaning of the phrase “self-reliance”? We explore these questions and more with our friend Charlie “Carlos” Selman, discussing an essay by Exosphere founder Skinner Layne, “The Critical Point”. Join us as we embark on a journey of self-exploration in the next exciting chapter of … The Paradise Paradox!
A lot of people assume that without a minimum wage law, businesses will give their employees pennies, because they’re looking to increase their profits. I’m going to present a case using a slightly different scenario, involving a character we all know and love: pizza. This is Pizzanomics.
Are there price controls on pizza in your town? A maximum pizza price mandate? No? The last time you bought a pizza, did it cost one million dollars? Two million, three million? Even if you didn’t pay a million, you must have seen an ad for a pizzeria charging that much – right? The business owner has a profit motive. Why doesn’t he charge a cool milly for a pizza?
Instead of paying a milly, you probably paid a price that was more or less consistent with the quality and convenience of the pizza. You probably paid a little more if you got it after 10pm, and you probably paid a little more if it was a gourmet pizza.
Let’s say you find a pizza place, and it’s the only one open. They have a pizza for $30 delivered. If you really want a pizza, maybe you buy it. What if the price is $50? You know an Indian place where you can get two curries and coconut rice delivered for $25, so you call them up instead. Maybe the price of the pizza is so high that everyone ordering in decides they will opt for Indian or Thai instead. In the coming weeks or months, will the pizzeria change their prices? What will happen to them if they don’t change their prices?
The next weekend it’s 2 a.m. and you’re feeling in the mood for a pineapple eggplant supreme. You call up the pizzeria and they say their price is still $50. Then you check your mail and realise there is a place that will deliver a supreme for $20. Assuming the quality of the pizza is similar, how do you think the first pizzeria will react when they find out their prices are being undercut? Maybe they will match the price if you mention it. Maybe they will beat it. Maybe they will bring their advertised price down to $25, considering they still have an established name. One thing they will most likely not do, is keep their prices the same and refuse to negotiate.
Why is this important? Are there price controls on labour where you live? A mandatory minimum wage statute, or a union agreement which is backed up by the force of law? The last time you started a job, or in your current employment, did you or do you get paid minimum wage? Most likely you get paid more than minimum wage. Only 2.5% of workers in the USA earn the minimum wage or less. Why do businesses pay more, even though they’re not forced to? The same reason a pizzeria won’t charge a million dollars for a pizza.
Instead of being paid a dollar a day, or being paid the minimum wage, you’re probably paid something that’s consistent with your skill level and convenience of your job. If you do something that requires little training, you probably get paid minimum wage. If you have more experience at it, you probably get paid more than minimum wage. If you do something that requires a lot of training or many years of practice, or if you do shift work, if your work is dangerous or you work away from home, you probably get paid significantly more.
There are less people who are willing to work a dangerous job, willing to do shift work, less people who have certain specialised skills. The decreased supply means the price must increase to match it. All of the employers are competing for the labour, just as the pizzeria is competing for your custom.
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The Cash:
We really appreciate all of your contributions! Every cent and satoshi we receive lets us know that we’re doing something worthwhile, that you are entertained by our program, and that you’re starting to question what you know more and more. Please be generous. Donate to The Paradise Paradox. Or buy some stuff on Amazon using this link.
The Story:
There’s a lot of talk floating around about September, with the Hebrew calendar culminating in the Shemitah, astrology leading us to believe that the divine masculine and feminine are moving in harmony, asteroids crashing into the earth, the Pope addressing the US congress, the Freemasons’ “Year of the Light”, the Federal Reserve expounding their interest rate policy going forward, and CERN powering up the Large Hadron Collider to full-bore.
Are all these potentially influential events just a coincidence? With so much going on in this world every month, maybe we should hesitate to draw any conclusions. Of course, where one human sees a coincidence, another sees a synchronicity – and that’s where we start going down the rabbit hole. Don’t fall too deep as we move into another earth-shattering episode of … The Paradise Paradox!
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The Cash:
We really appreciate all of your contributions! Every cent and satoshi we receive lets us know that we’re doing something worthwhile, that you are entertained by our program, and that you’re starting to question what you know more and more. Please be generous. Donate to The Paradise Paradox. Or buy some stuff on Amazon using this link.
The Story:
‘Marijuana is the gateway drug’, they say. Maybe and perhaps in some unique cases. Let’s briefly review why this may be believed. In most epidemiological marijuana studies the findings show that early use of marijuana leads to increased vulnerability for drug abuse and addiction to other substances later in life. However, these findings are generalised, which decreases scientific merit, so it has never been proven conclusively.
Personally, I doubt very much that marijuana consumption would lead someone to want or to need to use a more addictive and dangerous drug, such as cocaine or heroin. Firstly, there is no proof and secondly, it’s known amongst marijuana connoisseurs to be false. One may ask, where did this idea originate? Let me remind you of that old and long running propaganda campaign for the prohibition of drugs, formally know as ‘The War on Drugs’. This was the name given by the mass media and initiated by United States President Richard Nixon in June of 1971.
Propaganda fuelled by fear and scare tactics was their weapon of choice. The public never had a chance. Marijuana is a drug and drugs are bad, drugs kill and ruin lives. Your loved ones are in danger. The Global Commission on Drug Policy in 2011 released a critical report on the War on Drugs, declaring:
“The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world”.
The effects and devastation continue today, U.S. jails are overflowing with victims, communities are being strangled by the trafficking of cartels, corruption has only been on the rise – infiltrating all levels of government and all in the grace of the parallel economies which prohibition creates.
Alternative studies were conducted illustrating that most people who use marijuana do not go on to use other harder substances. Furthermore, the critical priming for vulnerability to addictions and abuse of other substances is not unique just to marijuana. Alcohol and nicotine also prime the brain for a heightened response to other drugs. However alcohol and nicotine were not being targeted in the war of freedoms and choice. Actually, we witness the bias of substances, as alcohol and nicotine were publicly promoted during the Nixon era and the marketing for alcohol still stands active today. We can see how the alcohol prohibition of the 1920’s was an attempt of control and a display of the force of government.
Short story time, I remember returning home from school terrified. I would have been 10 years old. From class, I gathered that your brain is a bag of brain cells and when you run of out, it’s game over. Mr. Teacher covered many aspects of brain health, how we can not repair cells, we can not create or grow more and that we are born with all that we need. Brain cells are important for smarts, memory, motor skills and basically quality of life. We were exposed to examples of brain damage and the after affects as well as an array of causes. The following loud words were printed into my mind, ‘drinking alcohol kills brain cells’. Being 10 years old I didn’t need to be contemplating my own death due to lack of brain cells. That night I did do my homework: what do people consume that contains alcohol?
The scars of that class had tattooed my being, throughout my 20’s knowing that if “harmless” old alcohol causes so much brain damage, there is no way I am going partake in drugs. Now I see that the joke was on me, most of what I had learnt in school wasn’t entirely correct. Carrying out light research online I find that perhaps marijuana is not as harmful as alcohol and that it may actually have benefits (depending on application). Marijuana, cannabis is good for your brain, it promotes new brain cell growth, it prevents Alzheimer’s, it cannabis prevents brain damage after strokes and trauma and cannabis extracts have been used to treat brain cancer.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has published ‘evidence from one animal study suggests that extracts from whole-plant marijuana can shrink one of the most serious types of brain tumors’. Marijuana and its extracts can be prescribed to treat numerous diseases and conditions, such as; autoimmune diseases (HIV/AIDS), life boredom, multiple sclerosis (MS – which causes gradual loss of muscle control), Alzheimer’s disease (which causes loss of brain function, affecting memory, thinking, and behaviour), inflammation, pain, seizures, substance use disorders and mental disorders.
In this episode we discuss a real world perspective of marijuana being the gateway drug, as well as many other fun topics, please enjoy another crazy adventure we call, The Paradise Paradox.
