EVERYONE WANTS A BETTER WORLD BUT . . . . Coffeehouse Culture . . . . HOW DO WE MAKE IT HAPPEN? BUT DEFINING THE FUTURE BUT OH, YEAH! TELL US ABOUT IT Something very big and very important is happening in Amsterdam and Coffeehouse Culture is here to tell the world CHANGE HAPPENS BUT IT HAPPENS VERY, VERY SLOWLY. IT HAPPENS THROUGH A MAJORITY THINKING OR FEELING THE SAME WAY ABOUT A SUBJECT. A MORE PEACEFUL WORLD! WOW! The future is being defined in Amsterdam and it is a future that offers the prospect of a better world. In Amsterdam and Holland as a whole a new level of social functioning is emerging, a higher level of society where there is harmony, little violence, less crime, less racial discrimination, less stress and more self-actualisation. Whilst it is not a perfect society by any means, it is without doubt better than anything that currently exists. BUT THAT'LL NEVER HAPPEN. OH, YEAH! READ ON. For those, and they are in the majority, who can see no viable way in which to elevate society, the Amsterdam model offers at least a grain of hope. What has happened in Amsterdam can happen in any Western society. If it has happened in Amsterdam, it must be capable of happening elsewhere. What we must ask ourselves is what are the factors that have come into play to produce this unique social model and how can we bring about such positive social change in our own societies. WHAT MAKES THIS CITY DIFFERENT? The equation that produced the Amsterdam model is subtle, tenuous and conjectural. But, for all that, the primary factor is not hard to isolate -- it resides in the Dutch attitude to smoking cannabis, in the coffeeshop society. For it is out of the coffeeshops that this new society has been and is being defined. SMOKING HAS AN POSITIVE EFFECT ON THE INDIVIDUAL INDIVIDUALS MAKE UP SOCIETIES. WHEN SOMETHING THAT IS PERCEIVED AS NEGATIVE PRODUCES A POSITIVE EFFECT WE NEED TO REALIGN OUR VIEWS. LET'S OPEN OUR MINDS. BACK TO BASICS Cannabis smoking is generally regarded as an antisocial, negative force in society. Yet, at the very same time, its harmlessness, medical uses and social benefits are tacitly acknowledged. Conflicting attitudes and contradictions abound. IT WAS NOT ALWAYS THUS. In order to understand the Amsterdam phenomenon and the influence that cannabis smoking has played in its development it is necessary to take cannabis back to a time before its propagandisation, to take it back to basics. What we seem to have forgotten is that cannabis is a substance that produces increased consciousness in the user. Great! But what does that really mean? THIS IS WHAT CANNABIS IS ABOUT. Everything each of us is as an individual is based in consciousness. Consciousness is the totality of being conscious. It is our intellect, perceptions, memory, emotions, feelings, thinking. It is what defines the way we respond to events, how we view the world, how we view ourselves. It is character and personality. As individuals we are nothing but consciousness. CHANGE INDIVIDUALS AND YOU CHANGE SOCIETY. ALL THIS IS THAT. AND THAT IS ALL WE ARE. But consciousness extends beyond the individual. It is said that we all create our own reality. Whilst we might agree on the fundamentals, how we see things and respond to them is entirely individual and is entirely based on our level of consciousness. THE ONE THING WE ALL SHARE. AND BEYOND THE BASICS If everything we are is consciousness, it goes without saying that it is our level of consciousness that defines our level of functioning in the world. Every society is defined through the way in which the individuals within it function. It is individuals more or less coexisting within more or less agreed structures that make up societies. It all comes down to the individual. If a society has a lot of happy, self-actualised, thinking people (and 'increased consciousness' must, at least, indicate more thinking), it is only to be expected that this will be reflected in the society as a whole. IN INDIA THIS SAME EXPANSION IS MORE OFTEN ACHIEVED THROUGH MEDITATION HOLY ARE THOSE WHO RADIATE THEIR LIGHT. RADIATING OUT INTO STRAIGHT SOCIETY. And, indeed, that is the case within Amsterdam. Although many of the people who contribute to the overall ambience of Amsterdam, who are clearly functioning at a higher level out of increased consciousness, come out of the coffeeshop community, their contribution radiates throughout the whole society. SMOKING IS NOT ABOUT CHANGE BUT PLEASURE. How this phenomenon has happened demands some explanation. It is not hard to understand. It is merely a matter of a repeated experience becoming familiar and thereby integrated into the individual. Although dope smoking is acknowledged as being non-addictive, it is very pleasant. And pleasant things are always . . . well . . .pleasant to do. Cannabis smokers, therefore, tend to be fairly committed to smoking. CHANGE IS MERELY AN EFFECT OF THAT PLEASURE. YOU GOTTA DO WHAT YOU'VE GOTTA DO. In Amsterdam, where cannabis is freely available, what this means is that dope smokers tend to do it every day. But you can't spend all day sitting in a coffeeshop; there are always chores to be done, money to be earned, life to be lived. So they get used to functioning when stoned, to functioning out of increased consciousness. It is as simple as that. BEING STONED JUST HELPS YOU DO IT BETTER. NO BASIS IN FACT BUT BELIEF MUST BE BASED ON SOMETHING. Earlier we described the equation that has created this special situation in Amsterdam as 'conjectural'. That, as you may have discovered, was something of an understatement. We do accept completely that there is no scientific, sociological or even logical basis for the assertions we make here. There is no external source through which one can validate the statements we make. This is opinion. And, of course, if you want to find something, you will. But . . . . IT ISN'T HARD TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON; IT'S ALL AROUND. NOW IS THE TIME FOR THOSE WHO CAN SEE A BETTER WAY . . . . LET'S GET PERSONAL I and many others can see that something very special is happening in Amsterdam. So it is not just my opinion. Everything in this world has a reason and there has got to be some reason why Amsterdam is such a strange and powerful place. You tell me. But if you can't, well, Coffeehouse Culture is produced to tell the world that change for the better is possible. . . . . TO SPEAK OUT. IF NO ONE SPEAKS NO ONE HEARS. EVOLUTION IS THE GASOLINE THAT DRIVES THE COSMOS FORWARD. Although Coffeehouse Culture will probably be dismissed as just another pro-dope propaganda sheet, it is not about dope smoking. It is about evolution. Put together the elements of the case presented here: • we are nothing but consciousness • consciousness dictates functioning • increased consciousness must mean better functioning • individuals make up societies • individuals functioning at a higher level must make better societies and then put it all together in Amsterdam and look around -- the evidence is everywhere. It is evolution in progress. EVOLUTION IS ABOUT GROWTH. THAT MEANS MORE AND BETTER. YOU CAN'T FORCE CHANGE. THE PEOPLE HAVE TO WANT IT. The majority of people want a better world (you'd have to be stupid not to) but can see no viable means to bring about positive change. The Amsterdam model is here now. And it clearly works. Societies must find some way in which to relieve the pressures that clearly have such adverse effects on the quality and value of life. Amsterdam has found a way to do this and the effects shine through the gloom illuminating a brighter future. EVERYONE RESISTS CHANGE NO ONE RESISTS PLEASURE.     BACK TO TOP | BACK TO WARNING PAGE | ENTER     Questions, comments or criticisms to: Webmaster@coffeehouseculture.com The Coffeehouse Culture Site is produced by Cheapo Cheapo Productions on behalf of The Enlightenment Company Design: It Is But a Dream (Digital) Enterprises; Words: The Maya (Entertain You) Company Copyright © 1999/2000 The Enlightenment Company THE ENLIGHTENMENT COMPANY IS A NON-PROFIT MAKING EDUCATIONAL TRUST DEVOTED TO PROMOTING INCREASED CONSCIOUSNESS