"The only devils in the world
are those running around in our own hearts—that is
where the battle should be fought."
—Mahatma Gandhi
We at Solari are often asked why we are optimistic about our future. We
are far from oblivious to the risks and pain in our
environment. Yet, we believe that a wonderful world
is possible, and that the path to our collective well-being begins with each of us transforming from the inside
out—coming clean. With our prayers, actions, and
transactions, we have the power to shift energy away
from those who misuse power and move it to ourselves
and to those who are worthy stewards of our planet's
wealth and our children's future. (continue...)
 |
I. Cross-Cutting
Opportunities for Cleansing & Building
Our Total Wealth
II. Our Living Equity
|
III. Our Financial Equity
A New Unity Is Percolating
IV. Appendices:
|
|
The current financial
system is centralizing political and economic power
in a manner that is draining or destroying all living
equity—people, plants, animals, and our natural
resources—as well as the financial equity of
many people worldwide. We liken these forces to a tapeworm, a parasite that grows stronger as we feed it.
Like a tapeworm, these forces inject addictive substances
into our system that addict us to participate in what
makes the tapeworm strong. As we do, we are drained
until we perish.
How do we stop The Tapeworm? We have come to understand
that most instances of fighting or confronting The Tapeworm,
or trying to reason with it, only add to its power and
deplete our enthusiasm and resources. There is a better
way—one that shifts the flow of energy away
from The Tapeworm and back to us.
First we must each recognize our own individual role
in helping The Tapeworm thrive, and understand how we
are connected to it and feed it. With this understanding,
we can detach from The Tapeworm and cleanse it from
our lives. We can cleanse it from our thoughts, our
habits, our home, and our family. We can cleanse it from
our transactions—our bank deposits, media and
consumer purchases, and investments. We can cleanse
it through our participation in the governance of our
local political, civic, and economic systems as well
other private institutions in which we are involved.
By shifting our actions and transactions away from
The Tapeworm, we increase our personal power, security,
and wealth, and decrease The Tapeworm’s. We
exercise our power to fashion a new unity between those
who respect and encourage living equity and those concerned
with the need to preserve and grow financial equity.
Such an alliance can create new and greater wealth to
transform and decentralize political power and economic
markets, moving us into alignment to create a free and abundant
world.
How exactly do we do this? We thought we would share
some of what we do, in the hope that these ideas may
be useful for you. Below you will read about three main areas of opportunity
for coming clean. As we come clean, we live more joyously
and profitably amidst spiritual and economic warfare.
As we each come clean, we withdraw the energy that we
give each day to the people and organizations destroying
our world. As we each come clean, our energy grows,
and we give new energy to each other and to the people
and organizations leading the creation of this new world
that is percolating. As we each come clean, the world
we envision emerges.
Areas of Opportunity for Coming Clean
Coming clean means taking responsibility for building
a wonderful world by living in alignment with our vision
of what a wonderful world would be. Coming clean means
cleansing our spirit, relationships, finances, and our
connection to nature and the divine—clearing out
that which drains or harms us, while cultivating and
rejoicing in our abundance. It means shifting our focus
and support away from the leaders of a win-lose centralized
Tapeworm Economy—which is draining us and destroying
our planet—toward the leaders of a win-win living economy,
which enhances and protects our overall wealth, including
both financial and living equity.
| Kick-Start Your Coming
Clean A number of us at Solari found these “emergency
measures” to be very energizing entry
points for Coming Clean. Especially after another suspicious
election, in 2004, many people felt off balance and more urgent
about securing their family’s safety net,
in addition to worrying about shifting the balance
of power away from The Tapeworm and back to our
communities. Taking these measures is akin to putting your
own oxygen mask on first and then tending to others—or
to triage, which stabilizes the most serious conditions
first. Start with a quick pass—whatever you can
do in the next two or three weeks—and then see
where you want to go from there.
Kick-Start Your Personal Wealth
- Start praying or meditating!
Ask God or the Universe daily for abundance,
protection, guidance, inspiration, and creative
energy; envision a new world and act as if it
were so. [#1]
- Switch media
Turn off your TV and disconnect from all corporate
media. [#5]
- Assess your finances
Look at how your money is supporting The Tapeworm
and how you are being drained; check your “sustainability
ratio” [#3] and start
to shift your transactions:
- Can you lower your expenses/overhead so
you can survive with less cash and save/invest
more? [#17]
- Can you make a plan for getting out of debt? Talk to others who have done it
or can help, then make a plan and begin, taking it step by step. [#17]
- Switch banks and credit card companies,
keeping enough cash in the bank for unexpected
and lump payments (taxes, insurance bills,
car repairs, unemployment, and so on). [#18]
- Look into switching investments away from
The Tapeworm. [#18]
- Can you invest in upgrading home self-sufficiency: water, solar, vegetable garden? [#20]
- Assess your health
Need more exercise? Better eating habits? Help for depression? Pick one or two things that would give you the most
energy and start doing them. [#8]
- Build your affinity group
Strengthen relationships with family, friends,
neighbors. [#10]
Kick-Start a Local Solari Circle
- Team up with trusted others locally and start
by helping each other with the above. [#7]
|
 ". . . verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
—Jesus of Nazareth, Matthew 19:20 (KJV)
The people who are the happiest operate on the basis
of faith. That faith may be spiritual, philosophical,
or simply a general state of optimism. Whether
we pray, meditate, or use other methods, taking
the time to resonate with the energy and the problem-solving
skills of the universe is one of the “energizer
bunnies” of a vital and productive day. Centuries
of spiritual teachings regarding the power of our individual
intelligence to cocreate our reality are now being corroborated
by the latest discoveries of science, particularly quantum
physics.
 |
- Our freedom comes to us
through divine authority.
- When we live through the
divine, abundant love, intelligence,
and energy are available to
us.
- We have a personal
responsibility and the power
to envision the world into
alignment with nature and
the divine.
- Our collective visions
invent our world.
- Our collective prayers
and meditations are a powerful
force for positive intelligence
and direction.
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Pray and meditate or otherwise
connect into divine love,
intelligence, and energy.
- Envision the world you
want to invent and live in,
and your role in creating
it.
- Create and practice affirmations
to make it so.
- Give praise and thanks for
the blessings in your life.
- Try this with family and
friends.
|
|
|
|
|
table of contents |
top of page
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty—that
is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”
—John Keats, "Ode on a Grecian Urn"
After divine inspiration comes living inspiration.
The more excellent people we have around us, the easier
it is to maintain the values and standards we desire.
Leadership can make a big difference—especially
if we choose and support local leaders who inspire us.
Learning from cultures schooled in managing the uncertainty
and change that we are experiencing offers us invaluable
insights and survival skills. In addition to great
people, all living things inspire—animals and
all of nature—as do theater, movies, music, poetry, and
art.
|
- We are inspired by the truth
and beauty in our lives.
- We are inspired by people
who set excellent examples.
- We are inspired by living
things that set excellent
examples
- Inspiration gives energy
to our vision.
- People have accomplished
amazing things against all
odds—we can too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Make a list of the people,
animals, plants, art, music,
decor, and other things
that inspire you.
- Learn more about, appreciate,
and support these people and
things.
- Make a conscious effort to
increase their presence in
your lives and remove from
your life that which does
not inspire.
- Appreciate and support
the true leaders in your life.
|
|
|
|
|
table of contents |
top of page
“What is relevant is what solves the problem. If
we had thought through real relevancies, we would be on
Sirius by now.”
—Peter Medawar The Popsicle
Index (or Solari Index) is the percentage of people
in a place who believe that a child is safe to leave
their home, go to the nearest place to buy a popsicle
or a snack, and come home alone safely. We like to practice
an exercise in which we make a list of all the things
that make our Solari Index go up and down—totally,
100%. We then look for actions that are under our control
that would result in the greatest rise in our Solari
Index. Numerous opportunities always emerge.
|
- There is a simple indicator that
measures living capital,
and it can be created and maintained
outside of institutional and
corporate control.
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Estimate
Your Popsicle Index
- Ask the children in your
life to estimate their Popsicle
Index.
- Make a list of all the variables
that cause your Popsicle Index
to go up and those that make it go down.
- Do the results offer any
opportunities for you to improve
your Popsicle Index?
- What about the Popsicle
Index in other places around
the world? How are we making
our Popsicle Index go up in
a manner that makes others'
go down? Are there ways to
realign our incentives so
that we each other's Popsicle
Index go up together?
- If you think the Popsicle
Index can be improved upon,
invent an Index that you and
your neighbors could use to
estimate the health and well-being of living equity in
your place.
|
|
|
|
|
table of contents |
top of page
“Your problem is you think you have time.”
—The Buddha
Many people understand the value of doing a budget
for their financial resources. It is relatively rare
for people to do an annual budget that mathematically
analyzes how we spend our time—or how we want
to invest it going forward. One year, Catherine's senior
management team finished working on their company business plan, and all were satisfied that the plan was complete. At the last
minute, however, a decision was made to estimate the individual,
team, and collective time investment for the coming year. Lo and behold, the
group discovered that they had allocated 700% of their
time. Their annual goals were overly ambitious. As a
result, they had made promises they woul not have been able to keep.
They were saved by the time budget.
|
- Your time is precious.
- Your time can be valued
more by you and those around
you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Do a time budget.
- Study who and what you are
investing your time in.
- Identify who and what wastes
your time.
- Look for opportunities to
achieve more energy for youself
with your time.
- Look for opportunities in
collaboration with other members
of your immediate family.
|
|
|
|
|
table of contents |
top of page
Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess
the origin of all poems,
You shall possess the good of the earth and sun,(there
are millions of suns left,)
You shall no longer take things at second or third hand,
nor look through the eyes of the dead,
nor feed on the spectres in books.
You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take
things from me,
You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your
self.
—Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself"
|
- Having accurate maps of
how our world works gives
us energy.
- The more we support honest
and competent mapmakers, the
safer and happier we will
be.
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Cancel subscriptions to, and
stop watching and reading,
corporate media that do
not tell us the information
we need to know to understand
what is going on and how to
act in our own best interest.
- Switch to media that provide
accurate and useful information
designed to ensure the safety
and prosperity of its readers.
|
|
|
|
|
table of contents |
top of page
"Rise like Lions after slumber
In invanquishable number
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you—
Ye are many—they are few."
—Percy Bysshe Shelley, "The Masque of Anarchy"
Many of us have lost touch with choosing and supporting
local leadership, as well as the governance of the organizations
in which we participate—such as universities,
charities, foundations, churches, and other civic, social,
and spiritual organizations. Investing
time to understand your potential role in the governance
of the systems that influence you
often affords opportunities to improve your situation
and better the world around you.
Are you a captive of the myth that to get anything done
in the world, you need the support and “legitimacy”
from media, politicians, government and business executives,
foundations, universities, and think tanks who have lied,
deceived, and disappointed us in the past?
|
- The quality of leadership
in local and state government
and judicial positions matters.
- The quality of leadership
in our schools, colleges, and
universities matters.
- The quality of the leadership
in our charities, foundations,
churches, and other civic,
social, and spiritual organizations
matters.
- The quality of the people
who manage money for all these
institutions matters.
- We have the power to influence
the choices and behavior of
these people.
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Identify the government
and judicial positions that
most influence your daily
life, and become aware of their scope
of work.
- Identify the educational,
civic, spiritual, and other
not-for-profit organizations or foundations
that have the most influence
on your daily life, and determine
what their process is for selecting
their senior management and
board positions.
- Get involved in supporting
or campaigning for one person
whom you consider excellent.
- Find ways to encourage transparency
in operational and financial
budgets and performance reporting.
|
|
|
|
|
table of contents |
top of page
“Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the Ark;
professionals built the Titanic.”
—Anonymous
As Catherine gives speeches and answers questions on
radio talk shows, she is often asked if our world is
run by one or more “conspiracies.” She often
answers that in a world full of spiritual and economic
warfare, if we are not in a conspiracy, then we need
to start one. This is why Solari has developed
Solari Circles. A Solari Circle is club that helps its
members come clean together and shift their investments
of time, attention, and money to protect themselves from
corruption and market manipulation—while responding
to expanding opportunities to build wealth for its members
in financially intimate ways. Anyone who has the passion and need to start
one can do so. A
Solari Circle focuses on the opportunities to pool our
time and resources to reverse the drains in our life.
It does so in a manner that improves our personal well-being and shifts political and economic power in a positive
and peaceful manner.
|
- The power of the 21 steps
turns magical when we do them
together.
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Read the Solari Circle materials
at Solari website.
- Talk with your most trusted
allies about how you could
use this information to increase
your power and resources to
create the world you dream
of.
- Start a Solari Circle to
address intentions, education,
actions and/or investments,
when and if it gives you energy. Doing this together will save you time,
lower your expenses, make
you money, and help you feel
safer and more joyous in this
world.
|
|
|
|
|
table of contents |
top of page
Continue to Part II >>
|
