hey bryn,thanks for the kind words re my enquiries. this weekend i have got myself deeply involved in the running of a small shop in the centre of our city that's basically a volunteer-run altruist's resource centre, providing very cheap internet access, occasional gigs, art exhibition space, and an amazing networking/hang out centre for anarchists, communists, artists, musicians, and people basically interested in creating a post-capitalist (post-MEMEMEME) community smack bang in the centre of a very capitalist city.
We're working with ideas like trading in skills and knowledge (lowercase k) rather than money - people put up flyers in the window saying things like 'hey, my name is blah and i'd like to learn about x, y, and z; i can teach you about a, b, and c in return'. One of the aims of the resource centre i'd like to put in place is to collect this type of information into an internet accessible database - so if you want something or need some help with something, just search for strangers who have that skill, and see what you can offer them in return. The free exchange of ideas, with no money involved.
it is being founded on ideas that are remarkably similar to what Mr Rawat (and I'm sure many other 70s gurus said) have said about the universality of the human experience, about how you don't need anything but yourself to be happy, and that you already are a complete human being. Given that the average age of the people in the resource centre is about my age, I wonder whether 'my' generation is a direct creation of that movement, that time period that you're talking about?
