After the financial meltdown a few years ago, I decided to live for a year without the use of money. Considering all of the problems we seemed to have with out economy, my thinking was that money may just be at the root of it all. However, in researching the history of our use of money, I realized that it was more than just money that has been inducing crises into our civilization, but also our imbalances in our views of gender and sexuality, government and hierarchies, and our religious and spiritual understandings.

Building on all I had written in the three years since I decided to stop using money, this book serves as a portrait of how we have come to create our current culture. My hope is that by looking at the mistakes and triumphs of the past, we will be better able to cultivate a more prosperous and equanimous future. I am asking for your help in getting this book to print and expand the conversation about true abundance and the opportunities that lay before us as we look forward toward a brighter tomorrow.

After reading an early draft of the book, Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow at the Post Carbon Institute and author of Afterburn, The Party's Over, and The End of Growth, said, "This ambitious but engaging book starts by recounting the author's experiment in living for a year without using money, then shifts to a deep historical, multi-cultural tour de force that sheds light on who we are as humans, and what we have become as a result of our pursuit of wealth and power. Perhaps partly due to the unique perspective conferred by his cashless year, Steve McAllister remains refreshingly optimistic and compassionate throughout."

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Watch the promo video here.

OVERVIEW

Human beings (as in homo sapiens) have used money for 5% of our existence, and it has been in use for as long as we've used the written word. Although it purports to create value, this artifice has also propagated our separation from one another, from nature, and from the Divine, resulting in large swaths of emotional, economic, and spiritual poverty. With it's rise to power, it has been entwined with our developing traditions of government, religion, and human relationships, guiding us down a path of discrepancy, inequality, oppression, and indebtedness.

Yet money is not necessarily the cause of the suffering we manufacture in our struggle to fabricate comfort. As a tool we created to solidify our separation from the natural world, it has been instrumental in our drawing imaginary lines of ownership over the planetary property we all share, subjugating half of our population to subservience based upon their gender, and manufacturing a variety of means to control, manipulate, and conquer our fellow humans and the rest of our living planet. As the monetary system we've designed has culminated into its current incarnation of global capitalism, many are questioning the virtue of self-interest that has inspired this movement, and we are seeking ways to alleviate our self-imposed human suffering by welcoming reunion and consciously creating a new culture.

Money, Sex, Power & Faith questions the underpinnings of the culture we have cultivated based on division, patriarchy, punishment, and control. By exploring the circuitous path we have taken through agrarianism, agriculture, industry, and information, readers are given the ability to reconsider the assumptions that have guided us to our present state, and open up to the next Great Revolution toward sustainability, resilience, and a higher quality of life for all. Although the game of finance may have reached its endgame as America's debt as ballooned to more than its GDP and 90% of the wealth has been absorbed by 10% of the population, humanity still has a wealth of value at its disposal, and the ability to heal our societal mistakes by forgiving the past and embracing a Renaissance of artistry, business, citizenry, and charity.

After exploring intentional communities throughout America in the hopes of finding something beyond the limitations of the Judeo/Christian/Capitalist/Consumerist world view, Steve McAllister released The Rucksack Letters as one man's journey toward a greater purpose. He followed it up with a riveting sci-fi, philosophical comedy about creating more sustainable and balanced markets with How to Survive an Estralarian Mind Meld. After living for a year without money, Steve's release of Money, Sex, Power & Faith is the culmination of years of research and a few very compelling lifestyle experiments.

AUDIENCE

There has been a growing movement over the last few years as people have recognized the deleterious effects of rampant consumerism necessary to fuel the continued rise of global capitalism. For those who are looking forward to greater sustainability, a healthier planet, and less economic disparity, Money, Sex, Power & Faith gives readers a glimpse at how far we've come to better prepare for the future we envision. As people are questioning the foundations of our culture, the book shines a light on the development of money as a means of control as it has been used to manipulate minds and behavior through the auspices of government, religion, and human relations.

Money, Sex, Power & Faith not only appeals to those interested in history, economics, politics, religion, and gender equality, but also to those who just know that things can be better. For those who wish to gain greater control of their lives and empower our communities to become more resilient and less dependent upon bureaucracies and hierarchical structures, “Money, Sex, Power, & Faith" offers a glimpse at how we have reached this point in our civilizational evolution, and how we can establish a more harmonious existence through understanding, equanimity, and participation in the lives we've been given.

Based on the growing movements of Occupy, Zeitgeist, the Venus Project, and the expansion of currencies through programs such as Bitcoin, Time Dollars, and other barter and trade organizations, millions are seeking answers to life's problems outside the mainstream culture, and Money, Sex, Power & Faith serves as a comforting guide as we move from the economy that has been to the economy that will be. Basically, the book speaks to those who recognize the flaws in our current patriarchal system of separation and punishment, and who wish to embrace a wider world view that allows for fuller appreciation of the sacred feminine, a more balanced economy based on the laws of nature, and a stronger spiritual connection with Divinity through the release of ego-based ideations.

MARKETING

To raise awareness of Money, Sex, Power & Faith, I will be initially reaching out to radio hosts and podcasters seeking conversations based on the questions of economics, sexuality, government, and spirituality that the book touches upon. I will be using my social media platforms to share upcoming and recorded interviews as well as the following forms of content.

Money, Sex, Power & Faith will be released in its entirety through InkenSoul.com, and broken down into bite-sized pieces to be released through Twitter and Facebook.

The book will also be released as an audio book, available as a download in its entirety, and released in segments to accompany blogs and incite reader involvement through conversation.

A web-based video series is already in the works, expanding on ideas discussed in the book.

Memes will be created including passages from the book and released through appropriate social media channels.

Speaking engagements and bookstore signings will be sought out and scheduled.

As sales make touring possible, a American book tour will be planned using trains, a bicycle, Uber, CouchSurfer.com, and AirBnB in order to draw greater awareness to alternative methods of collaborative capitalism.

OUTLINE

The book starts with THE CONVERGENCE OF CULTURE, weaving together the disparate themes of money, sex, power, and faith that have influenced the growth of our civilization.

In THE EARLY YEARS, the book looks at the 190,000 years of nomadic egalitarianism and how our relationship with the Earth and each other changed as we initiated the last 10,000 years of totalitarian agriculture. Touching on the psychological ramifications of our lifestyle changes, this section explores the initial developments of banking, coinage, and cash, as well as the influence of mandated religion and the rise of incorporated power.

A WHOLE NEW WORLD paints a picture of how America was formed, from its religious influences through its economic limitations and political development, culminating in record economic disparity and rule under corporate personhood.

In RETHINKING WHAT'S BEEN THUNK, the book revisits the heretofore accepted ideas of debt, democracy, industry, and apocalypse that our society adheres to and anticipates, offering a lifting of the veil and a peek at what is beyond these manufactured limitations.

Seeking a way to get BACK TO BASICS, the book explores the opportunity for a new Renaissance by reconnecting the virtues of the sacred feminine, and the collaboration that can help restore a more balanced economy by aligning with nature instead of opposing her, and channeling our energies from the competition needed to inflate our Gross National Product to the cooperation required for a greater Gross Domestic Happiness.

The book comes to a close with WRITING THE WORLD, starting with a prescription for wealth beyond money, a healthier sexuality, the true power of interdependence, and a more experiential and integrative spirituality, culminating in a rather bold exposition on personal autonomy and the opportunity for a brighter tomorrow.