Consumer Culture

Americans have been under the microscope as having a consumer culture. We get decadent, we overindulge, we possess and re-possess, and we make regular trips to the store to return with more than we needed. It’s all touted as a very negative thing. But what if...

What if the consumer culture we are seeing is just baby steps in developing skills in manifestation? Maybe we have discovered that the world really is a place of abundant supply, and we don’t quite yet know what to do with that information. It’s possible that we are at the juncture of the thinking that there’s only so much to go around and the evidence that there’s way more than enough out there. What an incredible discovery to see that there is an abundance of resources, if so!

As we start to figure out that we don’t need everything, and we can get pretty much anything, we will see a trend toward simplifying. In fact, there is a trend toward simplifying. Just open any upscale architectural magazine or look at many designer trends and you’ll see spartan furnishings, with a minimum of clutter on open surfaces. We can see a marked change from the kitsch-covered milk crates of the ‘70's. Look at many of the book titles available today: gaining the upper hand on clutter, simplifying your life, less is more.

At the heart of all the flurry around stuff, we can settle into the question, “Does this item help me on my way?” To answer that, I need to have an idea of what is my way. When we don’t know our own way, and don’t feel comfortable looking for it, we tend to buy any and everything that can distract us from the questions and lead us to entertainment. But, without the heart in it, the stuff turns empty, and at some point, we learn that we need to use our magic of manifesting for more than filling our homes. We need to conjur those items that will further our expression of our gifts. Those things are out there, and they are available. We just need the clarity about our way to find them in all the jumble

So, although the decadence is still in full swing, I think that there is hope for the cycle to come around to a very powerful result. As we become adept at using the myriad things to further our growth and skills, we will be able to hand on the secrets we’ve learned. Other cultures and later generations will take the seeds of our experiments and make something beautiful with the abundance. We’ll be able to use the manifesting alchemy to turn gold into gifts.