http://www.naturalnews.com/035619_philosophy_self-centered_consumerism.

html How modern philosophy is killing you Friday, April 20, 2012 by: Mike Bundrant

(NaturalNews) Sigmund Freud's American nephew, Edward Bernays (1891-1995), was t he first person to take his uncle's ideas and use them to manipulate the masses. Beginning in the early 20th century, through a new method he called public rela tions, Bernays ushered in the age of American consumerism by showing the governm ent and large corporations how to convince people to want things they didn't nee d. This was accomplished by linking mass-produced goods, services and political ideas to people's unconscious and self-centered desires. Out of Bernays' efforts would come a modern method of controlling the masses. By satisfying inner, selfish desires, one made people "happy" and thus docile. It was the beginning of America's all-consuming obsession with self, an obsession t hat has come to dominate every aspect of Western culture, including the philosop hies we now use to improve our lives. Cultural self-centeredness was CREATED on purpose to serve political and financi al interests If you keep the masses preoccupied with themselves, happily consuming the goods and services they have been conditioned to believe they need, those in power may profit handsomely and exercise control according to their desires. There are those who believe that if this is true, it is nonetheless harmless. Th e problem is that the agenda of the power structure is far from harmless. It has altered the very meaning of life for millions of people and weakened the founda tion of the communities and countries in which people live. Again, this was done intentionally. We must shift America from a "needs" to a "desires" culture. People must be trai ned to desire, to want new things, even before the old have been entirely consum ed. Man's desires must overshadow his needs. -Paul Mazer of Lehman Brothers circa 1930's Birth of the American consumer (and death of the American citizen) Prior to this massive cultural intervention, there was no American consumer. The re were American citizens. There were American workers. There were no consumers. Consumerism was invented by the power structure. The people fell for it hook, l ine and sinker. Ironically, the typical American consumer is not a happy person. Bernays and company employed never-before-used tactics to associate consumer pro ducts and political propaganda to feelings of self-importance, success, wealth a nd credibility. The unconscious message was clear: use these products, support t his cause and you will be successful, important and happy. In fact, the masses were often called "happiness machines." Keep rewarding the h appiness machines with more products and services that stoke their self-centered desires and, soon enough, that is all the happiness machines will want. Techniques used to convince persuade the masses to believe propaganda and purcha se unnecessary products involved: Inventing the press release to inform news agencies of corporate developments an d new products as if they were newsworthy. Using models, socialites and celebrities to endorse products, conveying to the m

asses that they can also be popular, important, sexually powerful and successful if they purchase. Inventing third party endorsements (often from fabricated entities) to lend cred ibility to a product or political campaign. Of course, these tactics are common today, standards in mainstream marketing and public relations. They are part of a classic approach to manufacturing desire a nd demand for products and services, all in the name of personal happiness. In o ther words happiness and success in life equals the purchasing products and serv ices. Self-improvement philosophy and new age teaching is stained with self-obsession Not surprisingly, self-obsession has infiltrated (or perhaps even created) the f ield of self-improvement. Teachers and gurus have invented modern philosophies a nd distorted ancient ones in order to accommodate the all consuming self. For ex ample: If you have ever dreamed of a better life, Unlimited Power will show you how to use the power of the mind to do, have, achieve, and create anything you want. - Describing Tony Robbins' Unlimited Power As you soon as you lock your intention upon that, bang! You've got a Mercedes. A nd that's how it works. -James Arthur Ray (actual words from a recorded live workshop) The only limits in our life are those we impose on ourselves. Bob Proctor If you can envision it, you can have it! Law of Attraction quote Beyond being painfully untrue and misleading, the above quotes reflect the cultu ral self-obsession as set in motion by Bernays and company. Every quote above re flects self-centered desires, childish wishes and a lust for "more" that is perf ectly aligned with the tenets of modern culture - happiness machines seeking sel f-centered satisfaction. We want to be unlimited, unstoppable, success-bound, we althy and popular. And we want it now! Steeped in pop philosophies, we don't want to hear the truth: You can't have anything you want and you will not achieve everything you intend. You can have many things and achieve many things, if you are willing to work ha rd and make sacrifices. You have limitations, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Only you can le arn where those limitations are. Only you can accept them. When you do, you will free yourself from the expectation that you should be doing more than you are c apable of doing. Wishing for something does not make it so. Wanting something doesn't bring it in to reality. Focusing your intention does not manifest anything other than focuse d attention. Suffering is unavoidable and a good thing to learn to do well. How modern philosophy is killing you The philosophy that created self-centered happiness machines and destroyed the i dentity of the individual as "citizen" or "worker" has also killed off more char acter-driven principles of an earlier time, as reflected in the following quotes :

I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider th e most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man. -George Washington What the statesman is most anxious to produce is a certain moral character in hi s fellow citizens, namely a disposition to virtue and the performance of virtuou s actions. -Aristotle? Action is character. ?-F. Scott Fitzgerald By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return. -Genesis 3:19 If you can help it, don't allow your deeper character to die a slow death, turni ng you into a shallow, self-centered happiness machine. The choice to become a p erson of character, one who does not need to make up fancy ideas to avoid realit y, is yours. Character development (growing up) is a lot work, however, but it d oes turn into actual happiness in somewhere along the way. To read about some of the lies the personal development industry has created in order to delude the happiness machines, see this article. About the author: Get the free mini-course taken by more than 15,000 people, Three Soul Stirring Q uestions That Reveal your Deepest Goals. For a free, 30-minute strategy session with Mike Bundrant to discuss how this ar ticle applies to you, and to learn about life coaching or NLP training, please v isit this page at the iNLP Center school of personal development. Mike Bundrant is the host of Mental Health Exposed, a Natural News Radio program . Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035619_philosophy_self-centered_consumeri sm.html#ixzz2Gpvj2Cgu