Don't Buy - Ask Why?
I agree with your Professor. What is the name of her book?
Capitalism promotes the idea of individualism. The pursuit of happiness in our constitution has been manipulated to mean Buy Buy Buy -
things - to make the wealthy richer and richer. It is indeed making us sicker as a society. It is indeed killing our Earth.
The groups of people I have begun to engage with are all aware of our addiction to our desires - our emotional needs - our emotional greeds. When we practice being present in any given moment we are using our awareness to see what harm can be done with our actions. As your professor pointed out - our excessive consumption leads to harm.
The practice of mindfulness allows one to see the motivation behind one's desires and give one a choice to act on that desire or not. We are all dedicated to practicing mindfulness so as to minimize our harm to self, to others, and to the planet as a whole (including all the creatures on it).
Humans need to be able to create in their own way to reach true satisfaction in their life. The source of happiness comes from within us - not from things purchased outside of us. This notion has been completely buried under years of conditioning through the media and the church. Either you go to the big neon sign store to buy your happiness or you go to the big steeple to pray for your happiness. IMO - Neither act works.
If you look at Eric Erikson's Developmental Stages of Life you can see as an adult gets older they need this or they will become bitter and jaded about life. We were taught the range of age groupings can vary depending upon the individual but essentially all of us from the Western culture's tend to follow this theory.
We need to be able to use our gifts! The assembly line, machine like mentality of this Industrial time has almost destroyed our vibrancy as humans.
Erickon's Psychosocial Stages of Development
1
Basic Trust vs. Mistrust 0-1 Hope Dependency or Paranoia
-when the parents present consistent, adequate, and nurturing care, the child develops basic trust and realizes that people are dependable and the world can be a safe place. The child develops a sense of hope and confidence; this is a belief that things will work out well in the end -when the parents fail to provide these things, the child develops basic mistrust, resulting in depression, withdrawal, and maybe even paranoia
2 Autonomy vs Shame & Doubt 2-3 Will Obsessive/Impulsive or Avoidant
-if parents guide children gradually and firmly, praise and accept attempts to be independent, autonomy develops. The result will be a sense of will which helps us accomplish and build self-esteem as children and adults -if parents are too permissive, harsh, or demanding, the child can feel defeated, and experience extreme shame and doubt, and grow up to engage in neurotic attempts to regain feelings of control, power, and competency. This may take the form of obsessive behavior; if you follow all rules exactly then you will never be ashamed again. If the child is given no limits or guidance, the child can fail to gain any shame or doubt and be impulsive. Some is good, as it causes us to question the outcomes of our actions, and consider others' well-being. This may also result in Avoidance; if you never allow yourself to be close to others, they can never make you feel ashamed
3 Initiative vs Guilt 4-5 Purpose Constricted or Antisocial/Narcissistic
-the child becomes curious about people and models adults. Erickson believed the child does attempt to possess the opposite sex parent and experience rivalry toward the same sex parent; however, a true Oedipal Complex only develops in very severe cases -if parents are understanding and supportive of a child's efforts to show initiative, the child develops purpose, and sets goals and acts in ways to reach them
-if children are punished for attempts to show initiative, they are likely to develop a sense of guilt, which in excess can lead to inhibition. Too much purpose and no guilt can lead to ruthlessness; the person may achieve their goals without caring who they step on in the process
4 Industry vs Inferiority 6-12 Competency Helplessness or Shallowness
-occurs during Latency, but Erickson did not think this was a rest period; the child begins school and must tame imagination and impulses, and please others. If adults support the child's efforts, a sense of competence develops -if caretakers do not support the child, feelings of inferiority are likely to develop. Too much inferiority, and inertia or helplessness occurs (underachievers). Too much competency and the child becomes an adult too fast, and develops either into a Histrionic or Shallow person
One way to divide Erikson's stages is into two groups of four -- the first four have to do with figuring out the world, the last four with figuring out yourself
5 Identity vs Role Confusion 13-19 Fidelity Identity Diffusion or Fanaticism
-young adults attempt to develop identity and ideas about strengths, weaknesses, goals, occupations, sexual identity, and gender roles. Teens "try on" different identities, going through an identity crisis, and use their friends to reflect back to them. Marcia offers four resolutions: Identity Achievement (crises and commitment), Moratorium (crises and commitment later), Foreclosure (commitment without crises), and Identity Diffusion (no crises, no commitment) -if they resolve this crisis, they develop fidelity, "the ability to sustain loyalties freely pledged in spite of the inevitable contradictions of value systems" (can be friends with very different people)
-if they fail to resolve the crisis, they develop identity diffusion; their sense of self is unstable and threatened; too little identity and they may join cults or hate groups, too much identity and they may show fanaticism
6 Intimacy vs Isolation 20-24 Love Promiscuity or Exclusion
-intimacy is the ability to be close, loving, and vulnerable with romances and friends. It is based in part upon identity development, in that you have to know yourself to share it. The virtue gained here is love. Failure to develop intimacy can lead to promiscuity (getting too close too quick and not sustaining it), or exclusion (rejecting relationships and those who have them)
7 Generativity vs Stagnation 25-64 Care Stagnation or Overextension
-if you have a strong sense of creativity, success, and of having "made a mark" you develop generativity, and are concerned with the next generation; the virtue is called care, and represents connection to generations to come, and a love given without expectations of a specific return -adults that do not feel this develop a sense of stagnation, are self-absorbed, feel little connection to others, and generally offer little to society; too much stagnation can lead to rejectivity and a failure to feel any sense of meaning (the unresolved mid-life crises), and too much generativity leads to overextension (someone who has no time for themselves because they are so busy)
8 Ego Integrity vs Despair 65-? Wisdom Presumption or Disdain
-this entails facing the ending of life, and accepting successes and failures, ageing, and loss. People develop ego integrity and accept their lives if they succeed, and develop a sense of wisdom a "detached concern with life itself in the face of death itself" -those who do not feel a sense of despair and dread their death; it's too late to change their lives (Ebenezer Scrooge just managed to avoid it) Too much wisdom leads to presumption, too much despair to a disdain for life
