Nov 2009. Almost a year since the book was released free onto the internet
Well it’s been a while since I last updated my blog for the project. Primarily because I felt I didn’t have anything useful to say!
Over the last two months I have spent most of that time trying desperately to find a way to integrate the project work with something that brings in enough money to pay the rent, heat the house, pay for travel, food etc.. Needless to say, when you are trying to do work which is in line with strict ethical boundaries it becomes very difficult. Sure I have plenty of skills that I could put to use (and do), but in this money-centric society, if you’re not conforming you’re on the outside!
So, as someone who is committed to remaining firmly in the centre of society, I’ve got a bit of work to do on keeping the project afloat. But with a few royalties, a few kind donations, and a bit of work here and there, and the help of people who have already volunteered for the project, I think the natural mind project is here to stay!
But enough about me! What about you? If you happen to be one of the half a million people who downloaded the book over the past 11 months, has anything in the book resonated with you? You may have put it down after the first few pages, after all, trying to discover what it truly means to be human isn’t quite as easy as reading a nice novel!
If you persisted with either the audiobook, the ebook, or the hardback book (thanks for buying it!), has anything you have read made you want to do something? Has anything stirred inside your emotional system? Have you decided that, once and for all, this was a moment to make a choice, not a choice to change the world, for that is purely external.
So we are not talking about deciding to run off and save the entire african continent, save the rainforests, or stop global warming, or even stop nuclear war etc etc. If you had to do that you’d have to be around for a lot longer than you’re going to be! You see, the world (human world) has been in what looks to be a terrible state for the last x thousand years. So, if nothing has really changed over all this time, what difference can one person make during their short time on earth?
Everyone will tell you that it is better to do something than just idly sit back and watch the human race ultimately destroy itself, but signing up to work for a charity, donating money etc, whilst commendable , is still an external activity. The only way to change the world is to change yourself – fundamentally, at the core – and let the world take care of itself. After all, whether you believe you were created by god, evolved from apes, or landed in a spacecraft – planet earth has been here for a long time, and will still be around long after you and I are gone.
So have fun in life, enjoy yourselves, and never change unless you truly want to. Never feel like you have to change the world, save anyone, or shift your thinking. You will know when it’s time to change. And you may find it hits you just when you are not expecting it.
Thanks to everyone who supported me and the natural mind project over the last year. We have already started several collaborative projects including the evolving book, earthrunner – a global running community, a film project, and the translation of the book into other languages, and the one big shift website where you can tell everyone you’ve shifted your thinking!
There are still plenty of big projects about to get involved with as this is just the beginning!
thanks again
alan
If you want to get in touch just send me an email at alan@thenaturalmindproject.org