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 dawn of a new day
un inglohablante
Registered: 01/16/03
Posts: 117
Loc: Earth
Last seen: 18 years, 10 months
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 Do possessions make people greedy? 
#2412081 - 03/09/04 07:13 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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I think that they may to some extent. Occasionally I feel myself thinking of selfish ways to keep things to myself or shady ways to attain more of something that I don't really need. When I stop myself from thinking of things as "mine" I find that I am a much more generous person. It's ridiculous how selfish we can be sometimes with things that are not at all essential to our well being.
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"Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn't the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit . . . unnatural?"
- Bill Hicks
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barfightlard
tales of theinexpressible
Registered: 01/29/03
Posts: 8,670
Loc: Canoodia
Last seen: 14 years, 3 months
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I think they do. I don't like that idea, but I still have them............
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"What business is it of yours what I do, read, buy, see, say, think, who I fuck, what I take into my body - as long as I do not harm another human being on this planet?" - Bill Hicks
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Frog
Warrior
 
Registered: 10/22/03
Posts: 4,284
Loc: The Zero Point Field
Last seen: 11 years, 2 months
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I don't think possessions make people greedy. I think people become greedy for various reasons, but not because predicated by the possession, itself.
There are various reasons people have possessions. To impress, to feel better about themselves, or because in order to be successful, you must have certain types of possessions.
I think we can be happy without possessions, or with minimal possessions...with just what we need. But we live in a society that judges us by how much "stuff" we have acquired, by what kind of car we drive.
And there are those of us afraid of being poor, or of not having what Mr. Jones has. So we look at the things we can't afford and we find ways to attain those things without paying for them, because we can't be content with not having them, or we refuse to work hard in order to obtain them.
But the possession isn't to blame for our greediness.
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The day will come when, after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. -Teilard
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SpecialEd
+ one
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 6,220
Loc: : Gringo
Last seen: 9 years, 2 days
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See my thread on Weights vs Wings.
I think that it isn't greedy to have bare essentials. Right now, if I had to leave in 10 minutes, I could pack everything I own into my car and leave. I have timed myself before.
This last year I did an experiment where I ridded myself of everything I had. I did it slowly and I watched for the point where I could no longer get rid of anything else without a negative effect on my wellbeing or lifestyle.
My possesions:
1. Clothing: Black and white tee shirts, jeans, underwear and two pairs of shoes, and some shit in my ears
2. Computer
3. Guitar
4. Car
5. Personal effects: bedding, hygiene items, stuff like that.
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"Plus one upvote +1..."
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Anonymous
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 Re: Do possessions make people greedy? [Re: SpecialEd]
#2412710 - 03/09/04 09:40 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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I'm in the same process right now, of getting rid of unneeded stuff. It has made my life a lot simpler, with less things to think about.
As far as greed goes, having more possessions doesn't make people greedy. It's just that greedy people typically have more possessions.
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SpecialEd
+ one
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 6,220
Loc: : Gringo
Last seen: 9 years, 2 days
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Re: Do possessions make people greedy? [Re: ]
#2412768 - 03/09/04 09:51 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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It does make life simpler. It is also a good exercise. I gave up some things that I really liked, like my electric guitar. The thing is though, that I could still simplify my possesions. I could lose my guitar and computer and be just fine. I guess that is what is about though, figuring out what you wouldn't want to live without, and getting rid of everything else.
Plus, it is one more thing to be elitist and judgemental about! A man can't have enough of those. 
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"Plus one upvote +1..."
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/l_l\/
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recalcitrant
My Own God
Registered: 04/20/02
Posts: 2,927
Loc: Canada West
Last seen: 7 years, 11 months
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I suppose when someone is possessed, they're capable of many sins. Including greed, the little girls character from the Exorcit was guilty of wanting to be free from her bondage, and the right to be rude to her mother. Swearing and beligerence is not Honouring, after all.
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We have to answer our own prayers
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MarkostheGnostic
Elder
Registered: 12/09/99
Posts: 14,279
Loc: South Florida 
Last seen: 3 years, 2 months
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I've been buying a lot of items for my home - all artistic, symbolic things to add to the 'setting' of the place, 'cause life is a trip and as we know, 'set' and 'setting' are the mental and physical aspects that contribute to the trip. So, the 'setting' is increasingly comprised of things that further evoke mystical/mythical/religious mind 'sets.'
For example: we are into the model of the Conjunctio Oppositorum - the Union of Opposites - so we have Sun and Moon images (one carved in the coffee table), one in wood on the wall , bracketed (guarded) by large green winged dragons, underlit with green glass votives. We recently obtained statues of Isis and Osirus and the result of their Union - Horus - symbolized by the 'Wedjat' or Eye of Horus - a pre-Christian Trinity. Across from them is our devotional corner that has Jewish, Christian symbolic items and I've recently ordered figures of 'Sophia' (Wisdom) and Mary Magdalene, to introduce elements of the Eternal Feminine into the otherwise Patriarchal Judeo-Christian symbols of the Godhead. Tonight we're picking up a hanging red glass candle votive with blue eyes along the side chains, to hang over the devotional table (the Eternal Light). Now these items (minus the coffee table) cost an average of about $35.00 each - money we might spend at a restaurant that ends up in our toilets - or it can create a full-time effect of Holy Space in our home, which when illuminated strictly with candlle light and colored votives, fragranced with good quality incense (also not costly), and experienced on a daily basis, and on specially 'enhanced' Sacred occasions, a full-time effect on one's psyche is engendered.
These things also include a $14.00 lantern-holding gnome for our 'elemental-theme' bedroom, and a ram's horn shofar and 7 branch menorah for the aforementioned living room to complement the Thoth, Hermes-Mercury, Pan, Greenmen, and other Pagan elements. Average cost is in the $40.00 range each. These purchases are clustered together, but they contribute far far more to my growth and development and aesthetic pleasure than all the lids of grass or grams of hash I used to buy back in the day. No status is attached to these inexpensive things, and few people appreciate the 'setting.' I don't think these things make me greedy. If anything, they serve as continuous reminders of spiritual verities, which include transience in this world.
So, the right possessions might contribute to one's spiritual development, rather than hinder it with addictive vices.
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γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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EvilGir
Im the on coming storm
Registered: 11/26/01
Posts: 1,301
Loc: Planet Irk
Last seen: 7 years, 10 months
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I think haveing possesions is a form of attachment which is something we need to let go. I know its hard at first but its something that must be done, as for me I could happly do without everything else except for my computer, because i need this for work and research ect. But in the end i will even have to let go of this because realy its only a piec of metal and silcon.
One good thing about not haveing any possessions is you aint gona get robbed and you can get up and go anywhere withou haveing to drag things around with you. So less posessions= more freedom.
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Fighting the man the best way I can.
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Frog
Warrior
Registered: 10/22/03
Posts: 4,284
Loc: The Zero Point Field
Last seen: 11 years, 2 months
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Markos, you gave positive aspects of why people have possessions. I have possessions from my failed/destroyed/doomed marriage that have been in storage for the last 2 years. I pay $100 a month to store those worthless possessions.
Oh, but the memories they hold! The towels my kids used, the old waffle iron that I made waffles on, the dresser that I re-finished, etc.
I agree with you jezu, that not having possessions gives a certain amount of freedom. I've been able to move around a lot (which I hate) over the last couple of years because all my stuff is in storage so I don't have to move my stuff every time I move. Right now, I can fit everything I own in my car. 
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The day will come when, after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. -Teilard
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger
Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
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Re: Do possessions make people greedy? [Re: EvilGir]
#2414041 - 03/10/04 08:01 AM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
jezu said:
So less posessions= more freedom.
And less options for you to do with that freedom. 
Peace. 
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If I should die this very moment
I wouldn't fear
For I've never known completeness
Like being here
Wrapped in the warmth of you
Loving every breath of you
  
 
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger
Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
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A warm welcome back to you, too, man! Everyone is showing up around these parts lately.
Peace.
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If I should die this very moment
I wouldn't fear
For I've never known completeness
Like being here
Wrapped in the warmth of you
Loving every breath of you
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 kaiowas
lest we baguette
Registered: 07/14/03
Posts: 5,501
Loc: oz
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No object is inherently has this thing to them that "makes" us greedy. A person is greedy because during their whole life, they decided that what they think would make them most happy is to hoard and step on others. The possessions don't "make" us, we do it. only you can push yourself, not me. In order to do anything, you first make an agreement in your head that such and such means more to you than most other things. ANY object can be "experienced" in another way, it just depends on what YOU think. blaming the object helps nothing.
Here's the thing with possessions for me at least. it's not about what is on the outside, just what's on the inside. You can't control the external world, but you sure can control the inner world. YOu have many things, and if you appreciate them all, then what is "wrong" with it? The thing is most of the time our ego driven minds stop appreciating what we have. To think about what we don't have is to waste what we do have
I tend not to associate the opposite of greed as generosity. It all depends on the intent behind the generosity now doesn't it? People are sneaky with it because they think that being this way could benefit them.this is more of a 'me' kind of attitude rather than an 'us' attitude. Choosing to switch to a "me" point of view, we allow ourselves to be consumed by greed. WE desire something, and want something more, and want something more after that. It never ends, and it won't until you change the way you think about it. it's what you think and how you think that will decide how you act in certain situations. It is also has a major influence on what is "important" to you. Keep in mnind what's important to you may not be really important for me. you decide what is what for you and only you, not the possessions.
Ask, why would someone want to be greedy? what's the intent? most likely it's to benefit themselves? ok...going further, what's the intent behind benefiting themself? well that's easy...to be happy. security reasons, or power reasons maybe? what am I getting at? behind what most things we do, the deeper you go, there is always a positive intent by what we do. All of us do what we do because we want to be happy in some certain way. it's just that many of us have a way of looking at the world with shitty ways to "make" us happy, when all we really have to do is go with the flow and BE happy. SO yeah people may be greedy, but behind most actions, there is positive intent. 
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Annnnnnd I had a light saber and my friend was there and I said "you look like an indian" and he said "you look like satan" and he found a stick and a rock and he named the rock ooga booga and he named the stick Stick and we both thought that was pretty funny. We got eaten alive by mosquitos but didn't notice til the next day. I stepped on some glass while wading in the swamp and cut my foot open, didn't bother me til the next day either....yeah it was a good time, ended the night by buying some liquor for minors and drinking nips and going to he diner and eating chicken fingers, and then I went home and went to bed.
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filthysock
puresoul
Registered: 01/12/04
Posts: 2,080
Loc: Bergen, Norway
Last seen: 17 years, 9 months
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I think its pretty obvious that the more posessions you have the more you have to worry about and this worry builds up to greed because you'll do anything to keep your posessions safe, but owning things is like a drug, you have more stuff to show off, more stuff to feel good about and bla bla bla, this builds up to posession. If you looked at the oposite scenario, a person who doesnt really have anything more than just what he/she needs to survive, would it seem likely for this person to be greedy, no. I'm pretty sure the more posessions you have the bigger the chance you being a greedy person. Though there are amazing characters in this world who are rich beyond imagination and are almost the opposite of greedy, I had a friend like that, he broke his tv's used his like 1000 collection of cd's as frisbees (cause he only liked two of the cd's anyway), when we made bon fires he would burn his kaki's and silk shirts and pants. He had the biggest house I've ever seen but most of the time he would camp at the beach with like no posessions at all... that was one character I'll tell you. And I bet there are many more like that, but like drugs can make a user an addict posessions can make a person an adict of posessions... greedy.
>behind most actions, there is positive intent.
word to that. You have realized  
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Magic mushrooms are not addictive, the shroomery is!
Edited by filthysock (03/10/04 09:08 AM)
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Renegade8
Niggar please
Registered: 10/11/03
Posts: 386
Loc: Orange County
Last seen: 15 years, 7 months
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Re: Do possessions make people greedy? [Re: filthysock]
#2414485 - 03/10/04 10:32 AM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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I think it still depends more on the individual rather than the number of possessions.
I'm one of those people like the friend you described (although nowhere near rich) who has a ton of shit, but is careless with it. 100's of CDs, a couple TVs, damn near every video game system over the last 15 years, computer stuff, etc. But then I break or lose a lot of my shit & I think I might have gotten my storage auctioned off 'cause I can't remember the last time I paid it. 
The way I look at it, my possessions (and I include money in that) are just things I use to keep myself entertained. I don't attach any value to them - if I lost my X-Box, I'd be pissed 'cause I couldn't play anymore, but not 'cause I lost a $200 item. I'm notorious for buying people drinks or even concert tickets just 'cause I want them to have a good time with me. After all, I'm working this shitty job so I can have fun, not so I can watch my bank account add up 'til I die.
But I'm not attached to having all this stuff and I can be fine without anything. I spent a couple months living in the back seat of my truck at Wal Mart, away from my house full of crap, and I had a blast just going to parks & libraries every day.
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I'm just see-through faded, super jaded, and out of my mind. - R.I.P. Layne
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SkorpivoMusterion
Livin in theTwilight Zone...
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 9,954
Loc: You can't spell fungus wi...
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Re: Do possessions make people greedy? [Re: Renegade8]
#2414519 - 03/10/04 10:44 AM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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I think it still depends more on the individual rather than the number of possessions.
Agreed.
For example, the saying "MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL" is fallacious.
Money is an energy tool. It's like a hammer, it can either be used to build, or for destruction. It's neutral.
It boils down to the person's collective and total sum of moments, choices, decisions, influences, chosen paths, methods of thought, attitudes, upbringings, unique pysche, and so on; that determines HOW the person will use money.
Just an example, mind you.
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Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger
Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
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Quote:
SkorpivoMusterion said:
Just an example, mind you.
Don't downplay the example, my friend. Twas a good example, yyargh.
Hehe, on a side note, I'm losing my mind! 
Peace.
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If I should die this very moment
I wouldn't fear
For I've never known completeness
Like being here
Wrapped in the warmth of you
Loving every breath of you
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SkorpivoMusterion
Livin in theTwilight Zone...
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 9,954
Loc: You can't spell fungus wi...
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Re: Do possessions make people greedy? [Re: fireworks_god]
#2414674 - 03/10/04 11:26 AM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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Hehe, on a side note, I'm losing my mind!
d00d! I did dat shiet one time y0. and yo dog, this woman had like fi-dollahs sittin on hers table yo. I was up in her crib yo. I walked up to that fi-dollaz and when she werent lookin I stole that shit yo. she all like "gimme my fi-dollas nigga, yo MOTHA FUCK gimme that cash!" I wers like "yo woman aint got yo money now git up out my grill." she all like "wur dat money bitch" and start pats me down and shit, she all like "take them drawers off I know u hiding that shit" Im like "fuck you" and take off my pants swingin my cock round like a helicopter, that woman was so up on my cock she aint even notice her fi-dollas stuffed up my ayuss.
and ever since then, I STILL Can't find my mind.
fi-dollahs fo' me niggaz
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Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.
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SpecialEd
+ one
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 6,220
Loc: : Gringo
Last seen: 9 years, 2 days
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How attached are you to your possesions?
If you lost all of them in an accident, would you be devastated?
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"Plus one upvote +1..."
--- //
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/l_l\/
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chunder
marker
Registered: 08/11/02
Posts: 966
Loc: The City
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Re: Do possessions make people greedy? [Re: fireworks_god]
#2414953 - 03/10/04 12:23 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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And less options for you to do with that freedom.
Perhaps theres just as much to "do" when you possess things as when you don't possess things. Just look at the little hermits that live in caves and only possess their robes and bowls. They're just as busy as an American businessman, wrapped up in his materialistic reality tunnel, they just don't spend their time in activity that requires material objects.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that even when we feel like we only have certain options, a certain amount of things to "do", we really have EVERYTHING to do. There are no limitations or walls, just open space in every direction...
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