self-esteem & materialism

"No servant can serve two masters," Jesus told his disciples. "For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal."

"The best things in life aren't things." - Art Buchwald

What they DONT want you to see


Scientists find that low self-esteem & materialism goes hand in hand

Researchers have found that low self-esteem and materialism are not just a correlation, but also a causal relationship where low self esteem increases materialism, and materialism can also create low self-esteem. The also found that as self esteem increases, materialism decreases. The study primarily focused on how this relationship affects children and adolescents. Lan Nguyen Chaplin (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Deborah Roedder John (University of Minnesota) found that even a simple gesture to raise self-esteem dramatically decreased materialism, which provides a way to cope with insecurity.

"By the time children reach early adolescence, and experience a decline in self-esteem, the stage is set for the use of material possessions as a coping strategy for feelings of low self-worth," they write in the study, which will appear in the Journal of Consumer Research.

The paradox that findings such as these bring up, is that consumerism is good for the economy but bad for the individual. In the short run, it’s good for the economy when young people believe they need to buy an entirely new wardrobe every year, for example. But the hidden cost is much higher than the dollar amount. There are costs in happiness when people believe that their value is extrinsic. There are also environmental costs associated with widespread materialism.

In the book “Happiness: Lessons From a New Science”, Richard Layard exposes a paradox at the heart of our lives. Most of us want more income so we can consume more. Yet as societies become richer, they do not become happier. In fact, the First World has more depression, more alcoholism and more crime than fifty years ago. This paradox is true of Britain, the United States, continental Europe and Japan.

Statistically people have more things than they did 50 years ago, but they are actually less happy in several key areas. There is also the considerable cost of what materialism does to the environment. We don’t yet know what final toll that could take in terms of quality of life and overall happiness. What many people don’t understand is that if we want to save the environment then at some level we have to buy and consume less. We don’t need to buy so much bottled water, for example. Studies have shown it’s usually not any purer than city tap water, which doesn’t leave mountains of plastic bottles strewn across the nations landfills. It also wastes energy and resources to make those plastic bottles and the many other unnecessary things that both youth and adults alike believe they need to have in order to enjoy life and feel good about themselves.

Mad Magazine summed it up with the statement, 'The only reason a great many American families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments.' "

What an eye opener for the longest time i have tried to live my life differently then the majority, purchasing and buying things, things, things...

What i failed to realize even though i was not buying these so called wants all the time, i was still apart of this society and still had the influences of the majority. I remember having many conversations with my girlfriend about materialism and how sick i was being apart of this society, but i realize it isn't societies fault that i create my own reality. I needed to do some soul searching and learn what my addictions were and how i could change the way i was living. I feel that many times i won't even realize i am addicted to something, it takes much inner work to cleanse the dirt i have accumulated to false illusions that many of us do not see because they seem normal because everyone else is doing them. I say this evaluate your thoughts beliefs and ask yourself

why do i go out all the time and spend?

Do i need to buy this or is it an addiction?

Is it a want or a need?

One thing i realize is there is a word called INSPIRATION do we buy things so that we can feel good? Or do we buy things to help inspire us so that we can help inspire others?

It's like a painter s/he buys paints & maybe an Easel this inspires them and through their work it will inspire others.

Another example i will use in the past i would buy prayer candles or Reiki Charged candles to help inspire me in my spiritual practices, and it has many times, these candles are very special to me they bring out the inner calmness in me so that i may live a more peaceful and fulfilling life.

Do you spend to help inspire yourself and others?

Do you spend to make yourself feel good (Feeding Egos) to impress others or to fit in?

Do you spend just for the sake of spending collecting things around the house?

I have seen many people throughout my life collecting things and cluttering their homes, this becomes addicting and they buy more and more until the realization comes what am i going to do with all this stuff that i have accumulated?

I judge myself all the time constantly i am extremely tough on myself when it comes to money or materialism. I do not want to get sucked into this vacuum of wanting.

This post is very thought provoking and helped me to understand that all this time i was trying to stay away from materialism that there still is some aspect of myself that is still materialistic, that i must and will begin to work on.

Many Blessings

Just like to point one other thing, when i was younger i collected baseball cards, well i fell into materialism and began looking at the cards for the dollar sign, i did not see the picture on the card anymore but i saw MONEY. I would spend money on the cards in hopes i would get a rare card that would be worth alot. How sad i was at this age and could not see it. But i am grateful now that i have come to understand that collecting things just for money is so society. And very addictive.... I choose to live a more peaceful life today.

Many Blessings

Do to wide spread commercialism it is very easy these days to become materialistic. The major corporations knows that all man desires something they don’t really know or don’t realize what it may be, so they work extra hard trough television and street ads to keep us filled with wants and when we do buy their( most of the time unnecessary) products, that they made it look better then it actually is, we become satisfied for a moment and when that moment is passed we want for more. There is nothing wrong with buying products that we need as long as we don’t rely on them to define us. I believe what everybody wants is the unconditional love and it could not be found in things.

I found this great video that I want to share it with you all.

luda wrote:I believe what everybody wants is the unconditional love and it could not be found in things.

Well said luda couldn't be more true

Found this explanation with video that you posted luda thought it was really good.

Thinking of possibilities of 2012, both for good and for bad, I was reminded of Apocalypto. People tend to forget the sacred simpleness and humility of the villagers in the beginning of the film, and dwell on the later shocking elements that parallel our own troubled society.

This is a version of an old Mayan fable, told by a real-life elderly storyteller of Mayan ancestry, Espiridion Acosta Cache. The story tells of man and his wants, which even nature cannot seem to fully satisfy.

This speaks of what troubles many of our hearts, just as much so in this day in age, when there is no certainty, and an abundant lack of hope.

May this cautionary and enlightening tale bring contemplation and perhaps even peace of mind to your weary day.

Many Blessings

Luda the videos were awesome very eye opening as Spirit-Being said.very informative and i enjoyed them.definitly will make me stop and think before i buy now do i need this item or do i want this item.I will have to work on my self esteem.thank you for posting these posts with the videos luda.