Cultural Embodiment @ The Stoa is Today at Noon EST ~ Money, Money, Money

Let's feel into a couple of recent stories that underscore the role money plays in...everything.

Hello Friends,

I apologize for the late notice this week on our regular embodiment session. Frankly, I was so committed to listening to the natural world, I tuned out a lot of manmade noise.

What is alive for me for us this morning is MONEY. I don’t think we can do this enormous topic justice in just one session, but let’s see what comes up when we really feel into the way money underpins so much of our news and world events.

This was inspired, in part, by the news two weeks ago that the Democratic Republic of Congo had decided to put vast stretches of precious rainforest and carbon-absorbing peatlands up for auction to oil companies. The environmental results would be catastrophic, but the country had made the decision in order to reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth in their country. This quote stood out to me from the nation’s lead representative on climate issues:

“That’s our priority,” Mr. Mpanu said, in an interview last week. “Our priority is not to save the planet.” (NY Times)

A village in Congo near the auction lands

Here is the promotional video the DRC released on Twitter to announce the auctions (it’s in French). Note the tagging of oil companies:

Ministère des Hydrocarbures RDC @Min_HydroRDC

Sous le haut patronage du chef de l'État,son Excellence Monsieur le Président de la RDC,@fatshi13 le ministre des hydrocarbures, @DidierBudimbu lance les appels d'offres des 16 blocs pétroliers sur les 32 que possèdent le pays. @TotalEnergies @Chevron @AppoSecretariat

I know this news is a couple of weeks old, but it is still unfolding and strangely, it is very hard to find information on what has happened since the initial auction dates (July 28 and 29). I am still looking for news on the outcomes. It looks like the auction was suspended and there are negotiations going on, including conversations with Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State. I also found this attempt to save some of the land by RedemptionDAO:

Join me today at noon to feel the complexity of the money game!