More of my beliefs and my "history"

Beliefs and Ideals…by Scott Valkenaar…on 11/20/08

I believe that everything is connected in an intrinsic manner--Ecosystems and environments need to be respected and nurtured in order to thrive and flourish. I feel that the past of human civilization is littered with the greed and excesses of the male testosterone- led EGO which has caused an overwhelming amount of unnecessary pain and suffering to the vast majority of the World's population. I believe the current economic model of "success" and "progress" is grossly outdated, ill-conceived, and unattainable. The affliction of obtaining affluence at any cost sends a dangerous message which threatens our very existence as a species. Relying on Peak Oil will not and cannot sustain us for very much longer...Sustainability throughout all systems must be advocated and promoted by all nations around the world in order to reverse the current trends which inevitably lead too ruin on all levels.

Living ecologically, respecting the environment and all entities under the sun, and co-creating a sustainable society where permaculture, vermicomposting, and organic methods of agriculture are promoted, practiced, and positively preached to as many people as possible in a pro-active manner is what my vision of the future is about. The Happy Brigade is one such organization that resonates with these beliefs of mine.

I have always been one to question "the way things are" as well as the so-called authority figures who created and helped to sustain the status quo which all too often made little or no sense to me. I have never heard a valid and logical reason for "going to war" and have always felt that logical discourse combined with transparent policies based on factual truths could diffuse any disagreements among divided individuals or nation states. My eyes were "opened" in 1990 with a few enlightened professors from Chico State Universities Political Science department discussing the state of the world and how we got to where we were at that time. Since that time, I've firmly believed that the vast majority of Governments around the world were primarily interested in securing and consolidating power into the few hands of the rich and powerful who occupied the seats of law making--effectively ensuring the continuation of the status quo to the detriment of the citizenry.
I'm an avid reader and I've focused much of my interest in things that are not mainstream; i.e.--Natural and homeopathic remedies as opposed to western AMA sponsored medicine which focuses primarily on treating the symptoms through a steady diet of pharmaceutical drugs most of which are not effective and actually cause other medical problems; suspicion of most of the worlds western religions which also promote the status quo and quell the individuals' desire to think freely and explore the psyche; Shamanism, meditation, and environmentalism have also been areas of interest.

In addition to what I've explained above, I have other ideologies which are quite anathema to the current thinking of many in our society. I believe that borders between countries are unnecessary and actually promote competition, jealousy, and greed amongst both it's leaders and much of the citizenry; That fear and hatred have no place on our planet--peace and love is what needs to be promoted on a regular basis; That natural plants which can--in moderation--promote the expansion of one's consciousness should be utilized as a method of accelerating the development of our minds towards enlightenment, knowledge, harmony, and acceptance; that reading and writing need to be emphasized and that TV watching and video game playing de-emphasized; That relatively small and sustainable eco-communities develop to replace the inefficient suburb as a model of development; That the utilization of solar, wind, and agriculturally derived alcohol be the main sources of energy replacing the nonrenewable and rapidly depleting fossil fuel reliance that has dominated industrial societies for the last 100 years; That universal healthcare primarily focused upon the use of natural, herbal remedies designed to prevent illness and increase vitality--utilizing Western trained surgeons for only major problems when all alternative resources have been exhausted; And finally, that humans strive to live cooperatively, lessoning the influence of the greedy ego and increasing the spiritual awareness of our connectedness with one another.