Why is money an illusion?First of all, What is money? Where does it come from?
Where do we get our money from? Our employer. Now, we ask where does our employer get their money from? Well, they get it from customers. Well now we realize we are stuck in a circle between employer and customer, but, if we recall where we physically got our money from it is actually the bank where we cashed our paycheck. Now we must think, where did the bank receive its money from? And that would be the federal reserve. Now the federal reserve gets its money from itself really, because the reserve physically prints its money. Our money can be considered to have come directly from a printer, a fundamentally simple machine that transfers designs made of ink onto a substrate while it passes through various rollers. And while I am not advocating ‘counterfeiting,’ though to get this point across, this simple process can also be accomplished by the personal laser jet printers of today. Even that inkjet printer next to your computer right now is fully capable of printing money. (at least basic appearance wise, without those cute little watermarks and UV stripes).
Now that we know where money comes from, lets get to the physical meaning of money. When we log onto WellsFargo.com and look at the balance in our checking/savings account, what do we see (other than a balance quickly converging to zero)? In case you are a little farsighted, let's just cut to it. All we are looking at is a number, for example: $9,753.10. Just like the number on a calculator screen, that number DOES NOT have any physical relevancy to our body or world, whatsoever. It does not restrain us, it does not hold us back, it does not tell us what we can and cannot do. And yet everyone lets it control them and the life they live; everyone is mutually accepting a hollow hearted illusion and defending it with banks, guns and violence.
Why don't we just get rid of money then if it has no physical meaning?
We don't get rid of money because we cant give it up. Having money gives us power, the power of spending, power over others, and power over ourselves. Our entire society has grown to revolve around one thing and that thing is money. So, we feel we need to earn money in order to have any power of ourselves and our society is based on this image we have created for ourselves over the past two century's. We don't give it up because we need it, we need something to represent the fruits of our labors, and we need a reason to keep working, one day hoping that it will help us achieve what we want. Click on one of the pictures below to explore how one person can give in to the illusion of money fully and how another person can resist the illusion money creates.
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