There is a word, not a very pretty one, “consumerism.”
In recent decades, we have been living in the era of consumption, when people have transitioned from a state of survival to constantly buying goods. The desire to keep buying everything is constantly promoted by advertising, and a wealthy lifestyle is glorified on social media.
Furthermore, consumer loans have become easily accessible, allowing you to fulfill almost any dream you have.
Consumerism has also affected information, the abundance of which can be viewed and downloaded across the vastness of the internet.
For the most part, I am sure our audience hasn’t been affected by this as much, but an element of consumerism is present in general.
If we are talking about the birth of a new, better reality from within ourselves, then one of its principles is service and giving from abundance. Moreover, endless consumption without giving anything in return violates the cosmic law of receiving and giving.
Let’s figure out how to step out of consumerism if you find yourself there.
What is Consumerism
What do I call consumerism?
A person cannot stop; they go and buy up everything and anything, even things they don’t need.
In stores, marketing and merchandising are structured so that even elderly pensioners buy everything in sight. Buy two instead of one, and you get a discount.
A person who can do the math on the fly will calculate and understand why they need a third pair of unnecessary socks. They will buy one pair, bringing home what they actually need. And that will be cheaper than those discounted socks — but hey, they were on sale.
The reasons for consumerism vary: some try to fill a void inside themselves by endlessly buying cakes, food, or going shopping to get rid of money; some are trying to assert themselves; and others are driven by a scarcity mindset — they need to buy everything and more, just in case it’s not available tomorrow.
See also: Prosperity Consciousness vs. Poverty Consciousness. What is the difference between them
Consumerism or Expanding Your Comfort Zone
On the other hand, the more conscious we become, the more we value ourselves, the more we allow ourselves to have, the more needs we develop.
But here we need to distinguish between genuine needs and consumerism — that which is imposed.
If you remember the old system, when one child was born, they were given a two-room apartment; if there were two children of different genders, they were given a three-room apartment. 18 square meters per person. If our family has three people, that’s 54 square meters. But it’s impossible to live there; you are constantly bumping into each other.
But if you want it to be comfortable, looking at the same thing through the lens of comfort brings up completely different requirements: you need a second toilet, if there’s a bathtub, you also need a separate shower room so that in the morning when everyone is rushing to work, you don’t collide.
And this is within your comfort zone, it’s convenient and pleasant for you, but that’s because you have grown into it.
But changing your car just because your neighbor has a cooler one — that is consumerism. Or replacing an old iPhone with a new one just because a new model came out.
Everyone makes these distinctions for themselves, deciding what goes into one category and what goes into another.
It’s normal that as you grow, the level of comfort you allow yourself also grows.
See also How to Switch from a Scarcity Mindset to an Abundance Mindset
The Shift from Consumption to Giving and Service
The first question that might arise is: service to whom or to what?
Service to higher meanings, where your highest priority is life in all its diversity, not your personal wants, egoistic desires, and so on.
Why has this become the main sticking point for many? Because the crisis that many people have been going through was tied precisely to this consumption or this transactional role-playing of “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
This is essentially a foundational element of the 3D matrix. And it has to be torn out by the roots.
This part is dying off and doesn’t want to surrender because proactive maintenance of self-reproduction and growth does not imply consumption.
The sun doesn’t reflect anyone’s light; it shines and radiates. I don’t wait for someone to tell me what to do; I take initiative, I look for ways to express myself. I initiate dialogues myself, I write and share myself, instead of trying to take.
Our culture of consumption has developed very strongly in recent years. I’m not even talking about the consumption of goods, products, and the like. I’m talking about something else: “Write an article, format it, post it, and I’ll come and write in the comments why you didn’t do this and that”; “I’ll gladly go and recharge by listening to other people’s broadcasts because they make me feel great afterwards.”
But where is the equivalent of giving back? Where is this principle of prepaid action: I do first, and then it returns to me a hundredfold. I recommend everyone take a closer look at this.
Because with gratitude, it’s clear. We’ve had this tradition for many years — the practice of gratitude. We try to post our “Thankful Friday” post at the end of the month, but it’s been around for many years. Articles have been written on this, and there have been broadcasts with practices.
An enormous number of articles have also been written about acceptance, because many people confuse the principle of acceptance with agreement.
There’s even a free course on unconditional love called “Activation of Unconditional Love through the Chakras.”
And regarding consumption, everyone can look at their own life and see what’s happening. I’m not talking about movies or books downloaded for free; each of you has your own point where this manifests.
For example, when I dove into technical questions and needed to learn, I joined various groups where people share experiences and ask questions. At some point, I caught myself not answering, even when I knew the answer.
And when I caught myself doing this, I thought: “How is this any different from consumption? People have posted and shared, you read it, but where is the feedback?”
When this clicked for me, I radically changed my way of interacting. Now, if I find something on a topic, I bring it myself and share it. If I see a question I know the answer to, I answer it.
We have such a multi-level system now. Sometimes you find something people haven’t encountered yet, and you share it. This is called interaction and mutual exchange.
This is the simplest thing to pay attention to, and it’s a stumbling block for many.
Because on one side there are expectations, and on the other side there’s an image in your head of how others should act, what they should do and say, plus a passive personal stance — I’ll just sit and wait.
See also: Cultivating Initiative, or The Core Principle of Building Communities in the New World
In what moments does consumerism show up in you? And in what areas do you take a proactive stance?
This article is based on the broadcasts “Transformation of the Energy System” (as part of the course “Energy Upgrade” and #29 Free Topic, 9.02.20)