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How modern philosophy is killing you
Friday, April 20, 2012 by: Mike Bundrant
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(NaturalNews) Sigmund Freud's American nephew, Edward Bernays (1891-1995),
was the first person to take his uncle's ideas and use them to manipulate
the masses. Beginning in the early 20th century, through a new method he
called public relations, Bernays ushered in the age of American consumerism by
showing the government and large corporations how to convince people to
want things they didn't need. This was accomplished by linking mass-produced
goods, services and political ideas to people's unconscious and
self-centered desires.
Out of Bernays' efforts would come a modern method of controlling the
masses. By satisfying inner, selfish desires, one made people "happy" and thus
docile. It was the beginning of America's all-consuming obsession with
self, an obsession that has come to dominate every aspect of Western culture,
including the philosophies we now use to improve our lives.
Cultural self-centeredness was CREATED on purpose to serve political and
financial interests
If you keep the masses preoccupied with themselves, happily consuming the
goods and services they have been conditioned to believe they need, those in
power may profit handsomely and exercise control according to their
desires.
There are those who believe that if this is true, it is nonetheless
harmless. The problem is that the agenda of the power structure is far from
harmless. It has altered the very meaning of life for millions of people and
weakened the foundation of the communities and countries in which people live.
Again, this was done intentionally.
We must shift America from a "needs" to a "desires" culture. People must
be trained to desire, to want new things, even before the old have been
entirely consumed. Man's desires must overshadow his needs.
-Paul Mazer of Lehman Brothers circa 1930's
Birth of the American consumer (and death of the American citizen)
Prior to this massive cultural intervention, there was no American
consumer. There were American citizens. There were American workers. There
were no
consumers. Consumerism was invented by the power structure. The people
fell for it hook, line and sinker. Ironically, the typical American consumer
is not a happy person.
Bernays and company employed never-before-used tactics to associate
consumer products and political propaganda to feelings of self-importance,
success, wealth and credibility. The unconscious message was clear: use these
products, support this cause and you will be successful, important and happy.
In fact, the masses were often called "happiness machines." Keep rewarding
the happiness machines with more products and services that stoke their
_self-centered_ (http://www.naturalnews.com/self-centered.html) desires and,
soon enough, that is all the happiness machines will want.
Techniques used to convince persuade the masses to believe propaganda and
purchase unnecessary products involved:
• Inventing the press release to inform news agencies of corporate
developments and new products as if they were newsworthy.
• Using models, socialites and celebrities to endorse products, conveying
to the masses that they can also be popular, important, sexually powerful
and successful if they purchase.
• Inventing third party endorsements (often from fabricated entities) to
lend credibility to a product or political campaign.
Of course, these tactics are common today, standards in mainstream
marketing and public relations. They are part of a classic approach to
manufacturing desire and demand for products and services, all in the name of
personal
_happiness_ (http://www.naturalnews.com/happiness.html) . In other words
happiness and success in life equals the purchasing products and services.
Self-improvement philosophy and new age teaching is stained with
self-obsession
Not surprisingly, self-obsession has infiltrated (or perhaps even created)
the field of self-improvement. Teachers and gurus have invented modern
philosophies and distorted ancient ones in order to accommodate the all
consuming self. For example:
If you have ever dreamed of a better life, Unlimited Power will show you
how to use the power of the mind to do, have, achieve, and create anything
you want.
- Describing Tony Robbins' Unlimited Power
As you soon as you lock your intention upon that, bang! You've got a
Mercedes. And that's how it works.
-James Arthur Ray (actual words from a recorded live workshop)
The only limits in our life are those we impose on ourselves.
Bob Proctor
If you can envision it, you can have it!
Law of Attraction quote
Beyond being painfully untrue and misleading, the above quotes reflect the
cultural self-obsession as set in motion by Bernays and company. Every
quote above reflects self-centered desires, childish wishes and a lust for
"more" that is perfectly aligned with the tenets of modern culture - happiness
machines seeking self-centered satisfaction. We want to be unlimited,
unstoppable, success-bound, wealthy and popular. And we want it now!
Steeped in pop philosophies, we don't want to hear the truth:
• You can't have anything you want and you will not achieve everything you
intend. You can have many things and achieve many things, if you are
willing to work hard and make sacrifices.
• You have limitations, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Only
you can learn where those limitations are. Only you can accept them. When you
do, you will free yourself from the expectation that you should be doing
more than you are capable of doing.
• Wishing for something does not make it so. Wanting something doesn't
bring it into reality. Focusing your intention does not manifest anything
other than focused attention.
• Suffering is unavoidable and a good thing to learn to do well.
How modern philosophy is killing you
The philosophy that created self-centered happiness machines and destroyed
the identity of the individual as "citizen" or "worker" has also killed off
more character-driven principles of an earlier time, as reflected in the
following quotes:
I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I
consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.
-George Washington
What the statesman is most anxious to produce is a certain moral character
in his fellow citizens, namely a disposition to virtue and the performance
of virtuous actions.
-Aristotle
Action is character.
-F. Scott Fitzgerald
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the
ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will
return.
-Genesis 3:19
If you can help it, don't allow your deeper character to die a slow death,
turning you into a shallow, self-centered happiness machine. The choice to
become a person of character, one who does not need to make up fancy ideas
to avoid reality, is yours. Character development (growing up) is a lot
work, however, but it does turn into actual happiness in somewhere along the
way.
To read about some of the lies the personal development industry has
created in order to delude the happiness machines, _see this article_
(http://www.naturalnews.com/034926_personal_growth_gurus_lies.html) .
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About the author:
Get the free mini-course taken by more than 15,000 people, _Three Soul
Stirring Questions That Reveal your Deepest Goals_
(http://inlpcenter.com/free-nlp-course/) .
For a free, 30-minute strategy session with Mike Bundrant to discuss how
this article applies to you, and to learn about life coaching or NLP
training, please visit _this page_
(http://inlpcenter.com/dear-natural-news-reader)
at the _iNLP Center_ (http://inlpcenter.com/) school of personal
development.
_Mike Bundrant_ (https://plus.google.com/117285597389575946600/posts) is
the host of _Mental Health Exposed_
(http://www.naturalnewsradio.com/Archive-MentalHealthExposed.asp) , a Natural
News Radio program.
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