Paradigms

Paradigms are models or examples that represent a fundamental worldview of large groups of people, as in societies, nations, races, and civilization itself. They are fundamental views on how man perceives himself and the world about him, and his interaction with other men and the world around him. Obviously we are not talking minor issues here, but major issues.

Paradigms are the basic belief structures of society, by which man gives meaning and understanding to his existence, to what he considers to be reality. One example would be the belief that all men die. Another would be the belief that the world is round, although at one time it was believed the world was flat.

This last example illustrates that paradigms can and do change. Changes in paradigms are not minor events, they are major invents that impact on how man views himself and or the world about him. A change in paradigms is referred to as a paradigm shift, as worldviews are changing or shifting. Presently man believes he must die. Perhaps that paradigm will remain. Perhaps it will change. Time will tell.

Paradigm Shift

A paradigm shift is a radical change in a particular major belief structure or worldview. Examples are the belief that the world was flat, to the belief the world was round. Another is the belief that the earth was at the center of our solar system, to the belief that the Sun is at the center. As is evident, these are major or radical changes, not minor ones.

The above illustrations are examples of paradigm shifts in one particular field of study or belief systems, that of astronomy. Paradigms, however, exist in all major aspects of life, basically they are the major aspects or belief systems of life. Paradigms exist in economics, finance, and monetary theory for example.

An example of a paradigm shift in economics is the belief in direct exchange or barter, to the belief and use of indirect exchange and money - the common medium of indirect exchange.

Life is alive, there is a steady flux to life as it constantly changes. It is a fluid process. Time is the measurement of change. Consequently, man's paradigms change as his awareness of himself and the world about him changes. This is true in all of the many and varied aspects of life and man's awareness and understanding of such.

Monetary Paradigms

As has been shown by many writers, man first used direct exchange or barter to trade goods with one another. Hence, direct exchange was a paradigm. At the time of its use, man believed it was the best method to exchange or trade for the physical necessities of life: food, clothing, shelter, water, etc.

As man and society grew more complex, so too did the need for a different method of exchange evolve, as society and the trade that sustained it was becoming more complex and involved. Consequently, indirect exchange developed along with the use or need of money to facilitate the indirect exchange.

Throughout the ages, silver and gold coins were used as money, the medium of exchange by which indirect exchange took place. For a detailed discussion see GOLD: Sovereign of Sovereigns.

Even though the use of silver and gold coin has an ancient history of thousands of years, dating back hundreds of years before Christ, during the sixteenth and seventeenth century a paradigm shift took place.

Man developed the idea of using paper money that was to be backed by silver and gold. The supposed reason being that it would allow for a more elastic money supply. This was a radical shift that had major ramifications as can be seen from the examples of hyperinflation discussed earlier.

But as all of life is in a constant state of flux, so too were the beliefs in how paper money should best be issued. Another paradigm shift took place, one that changed from paper money being backed by silver and gold, to the belief that it need not be backed by anything but the promise to pay.

This would definitely qualify as a radical change or paradigm shift. Debt was in vogue. Payment was out.

The new age of borrow, borrow , borrow - so that you can shop to you drop. Buy first, worry about paying later. Not a very sound practice, to say the least. But it is making someone wealthy. But who?

The Age of Paper

The age of paper fiat blossomed during the twentieth century. Granted it had started much earlier, but the advent of the Federal Reserve in 1913 was the defining moment in the annals of paper fiat money. The Fed and an elastic money supply of paper fiat go hand in hand, sort of like white on rice - death and taxes.

But the belief in paper was not limited to just Federal Reserve Notes as circulating currency or cash. Paper took on a life of its own, as paper represented the extension of credit or more money.

Unfortunately, with the extension of credit and money in paper fiat land, debt expands just as fast.

First their were notes, bills, and bonds, mortgages of different types, then interest only loans and principal only loans, collateralized loans, futures, options, swaps, derivatives, and sdr's. They are fast using up the letter combinations available as names for the paper investment vehicles that are dreamt up by the wizards of finance.

Perhaps we will have a paradigm shift to a new alphabet to handle the profligacy of the financial wizards in the Land of Oz. [good book the Wizard of Oz - It's about the silver/gold/paper thingy - honest, read it, it's a trip - down the yellow brick road].

The Tides of Time

The universe evolves and involves according to a plan and design. Some of the basic elements can be found in sacred geometry, the golden mean, and the golden spiral.

"Sacred geometry is the study of geometric forms and their metaphorical relationships to human evolution as well as a study in fluid evolutionary transitions of mind, emotions, spirit, and consciousness reflected in the succeeding transition from one sacred geometric form (consciousness state) into another."

"True sacred geometric forms never fixate or stagnate on one single form. Instead they are actually in constant fluid transcendence and change (evolve or devolve) from one geometric form to another at their own speed or frequency."

"The intangible essence within the sphere can be seen as the seed within the seed and it lies at the core of the sphere. The "seed within the seed" essence at the core of the sphere is called the Golden Sacred Spiral." [Sacred Geometry]

Courtesy of Life Resources

"In general, because the golden mean has no beginning and no end, it then becomes a fairly good metaphor for spirit in a material reality."

"One of the characteristics of the Golden Mean Spiral is that it continues on in ever diminishing spirals. The spiral soon becomes so infinitesimal that, theoretically, it could break the plane of one dimension and enter another dimension. Once it does this it could begin again inside another dimension as a comparatively large spiral, working its way down to becoming smaller yet again until it would break that dimensional plane and move into another one and onward into infinity."

In contrast to the golden mean (which has no beginning and no end) the Fibonacci spiral has a definite beginning but not necessarily an end. Once begun, the Fibonacci spiral can continue on into infinity.

"The Fibonacci sequence possesses a unique property. Different from the Golden Mean, the Fibonacci begins at 0 or 1 but quickly approximates the Golden Mean with ever increasing accuracy. The Fibonacci sequence seems to be strongly attracted to the Golden Mean Sequence (phi ratio) and attempts to approximate the phi ratio (1.6180339...). This accuracy increases until it asymptotically reaches its limits. At that point, one could not tell the difference between the two spirals except at or near the beginning points."

"This characteristic of the Fibonacci (always attempting to approximate the Golden Mean with greater accuracy) can be used as a metaphor for our human condition, which will help us gain deeper insights into the nature of spirituality."

"If the Golden Mean is used as a metaphor for spirit and the Fibonacci is used as a metaphor for physical incarnation (spirit incarnating into the physical and attempting to perfect itself to the ideal), then metaphorically, our physical incarnation begins as a Fibonacci life form."

"Without full memory of the whole and integrated picture of the universe, we start off our young lives in a seemingly erratic pattern of identifying ourselves as purely physical beings that are finite and mortal. As we gain experience and wisdom through the physical incarnation, we begin to sense and discover our spirit and begin the process of identifying ourselves more closely with our greater selves. Our attraction to move closer to God is like Fibonacci's attraction for approximating the Golden Mean." [Sacred Geometry]

The reason for digressing into sacred geometry is to show how all of life is in a state of flux or change and fluidity. Order in chaos and chaos in order. Change in changelessness and changelessness in change. Also as it has been written: "that which changes never is, that which is never changes".

The New Paradigm

So we know that change is all around. We see things are born, grow, deteriorate, and die; and then are reborn to start the process over again. Evolution and involution - of nature. But that which is never changes. Hmm.

History can be seen to be full of change, very fluid in that the past becomes the present and the present becomes the future and vice versa. Some call it the eternal now. History has experienced major paradigm shifts throughout the ages. We have listed and discussed some of them. So what is the newest paradigm? What might be the ultimate paradigm?

As stated earlier, man progressed from direct exchange to indirect exchange, a paradigm shift. Eventually another shift occurred from silver and gold as money to paper bank notes as money; first backed by specie, eventually not backed by anything but the promise to pay.

Credit, debt, and money morphed into one basic entity. The age of debt was born - the paradigm of paper was born.

People are beginning to question the validity of such belief in paper debt as money. The United States has gone from being the largest creditor nation in the world to the largest debtor nation in the world.

Now two parents have to work to provide a living that used to be had by one parent working.

The purchasing power of the dollar bill has lost 95% of its value since the Federal Reserve took control of the monetary reigns in 1913.

A paradigm shift from the belief in paper debt to the belief in tangible
assets such as silver and gold is at hand.

The Golden Age or Paradigm

If the existing problems within society are going to be corrected, such correction takes hard work and effort. Hard work and effort requires an honest system of money to allow for the means of honest savings to provide honest credit, so that the honest accumulation of wealth can be had by all. Some call it honest and true progress.

Selling the future of our children and their children, to be condemned to a life of working to pay off the debt that we are presently accumulating is not progress, it is the antithesis of progress.

If we are going to correct the problems of the world and to make the world a better place, then a system of honest money is imperative, as all of physical life is based on the money used to exchange the necessities of life by.

A return to the honest money of the Constitution of Silver and Gold Coin is crucial if true progress is to be had. Otherwise we are condemning ourselves and our progeny to a life of perpetual bondage and slavery to debt. The time for honest money is now.

The Ultimate Paradigm

What might be the ultimate or final paradigm or paradigm shift? No one knows that for sure, as no one knows what the future holds, as the future is not ours to see. But if we look around the world we move and have or being in, and if we look within ourselves, perhaps we can see a glimmer of the truth.

Perhaps the characteristic of the Fibonacci sequence or spiral to constantly attempt to approximate the Golden Mean with greater accuracy or perfection is the ultimate paradigm. Perhaps the Bible is saying the same thing when it states:

"Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect."

"And the perfect becomes yet more perfect."

The Crossroads

Presently the world is at a crucial crossroads. Fighting is still occurring in the Middle East, in Jerusalem where the battle over the Sacred Ground has taken place since the dawn of man. Have we not learned from history, from our past? War is not the answer to anything. The worship of Mars to obtain power over ones fellow man by conquest is not the way. The worship of Lucre is not the way. These are all false idols and prophets. Be not deceived, for "when the perfect comes the imperfect shall cease to be."

"Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse!
He who sat upon it is called faithful and true!"

"I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
"And night shall be no more"

Honest Money of Honest Weights and Measures of Silver and Gold Coin

The Time Is Upon Us - The Reckoning Is Approaching