More than a year has passed since Sept. 7, 2009, the day when the Vow of Wealth entered into my life. Although this vow came as something obvious, it was difficult at the time to have any idea of the path that would lead to its practical implementation, specially in regards to migrating from conventional money towards free currencies.
The Vow of Wealth is a spiritual experience, a commitment towards the infinite wealth that surrounds us as an inherent manifestation of the Universe. Leaving conventional money –Euros and everything related– is an incidental application of this vow. It is connected to my epoch and to the way I decided to act and express myself. Someone else could take this same vow and manifest it differently. The Vow of Wealth doesn’t force us to leave conventional money, although it deeply questions our relationship to it.
So where am I today?
I am in the midstream of the river. This means I am already far from conventional money, but I haven’t built a life operating with free currencies yet. The middle of the river is the most delicate phase. Currents are strong, we can stagger and be carried away by dangerous whirlpools. Both sides are as far as they can be. Doubt shows up easily, specially when others, seating on the bank (of the river of course) don’t refrain showing their skepticism. Staying in balance and keeping the fire of inner will is vital.
Facts now…
I left my house last May. No more rent to pay in Euros.
I am a nomad. For now I stay with friends who offer me hospitality, who understand and support the journey. It is a transitory, yet uncomfortable situation. But it brings my friends and I closer to one another. I try that my stays provides value, in the invisible as well as in the material planes. It is not always easy, my presence is never neutral considering the commitments I carry. These commitments trigger inner questioning although I don’t do any proselytism and I try to be as discreet as possible. Bn being of service in the present moment, and remaining focused on the infinite work requires some fine tuning and a permanent attention. I learn a lot in these delicate balances.
My body has become my true home. I do enjoy this evolution all the more so as the body has always been the space where knowledge embodies itself. Potentialities, ideas, concepts that have not come down inside the body don’t have incarnated in the matter yet. The body is a space for alchemical transmutation lead by consciousness.
The toughest difficulty in my nomadism is that it’s being imposed to my little boy Estéban. He doesn’t have his own bedroom anymore and his toys are in a container. He too has to cross the river with me. Fortunately he has a bedroom with his mom Stéphanie. Interestingly these opposite energies turn out to be well balanced : his mom gives him roots, his dad gives him wings. I have a lot of gratitude for Stéphanie about it.
I left the bank (the one of the river and the financial bank). No more bank account, no more credit card, no more plus and minus hide and seek games. This is an important step for me.
The car I had is transfered to TheTransitioner that becomes the legal owner of it. I barely use it for personal needs, it is widely used for professional purpose. So, no more private car.
The only remaining private expenses are:
- food and hygiene (toothpaste, soap, etc)
- some items from time to time (clothes for instance)
- and mostly what’s necessary for the education and well-being of my little boy, mostly school fees.
My personal needs have become modest. Today I live with a suitcase. I feel no particular need. What matters is the service I can give and to love and support my little boy in his life journey.
I continue to operate with cash for 1 and 2. School expenditure (3) are much more important, I hope I can help Estéban’s school evolve towards free currencies this year. This school is bogged down in an uncertain survival entangled within the scarce money grasp, it’s a no brainer that free currencies can change the situation. At the personal level it will allow me to develop a relationship that’s compliant with the Vow of Wealth.
What are the next steps? I will continue to get rid of the scarce money I still use so I can build a rich life in the free currencies world. This next step is the most delicate one. It requires the flowplace and the MetaCurrency protocols have become functional enough so that early economic circles can use them. This transition has to be organic.
Taking up this challenge successfully will demonstrate it’s possible. “We”? Yes! My beloved Fernanda is making this same transition in her own way in Mexico, in her own context. Maybe she will talk about it in her blog.
All this is possible because of the actions of those who support us. Although the path might seem lonely sometimes, it is foremost a collective journey.
JF is a gnou ! A swimming gnou I knew it…
No voyage is dangerous to the one who waves goodbye from the shore.
Isaac Asimov
Love,
Bruno.
[…] #38. Jean-Francois Noubel in France lives without conventional currencies (the euros) since 2011 and only with complementary currencies. You can read about his experiment here. […]