When I was a child there happened a catastrophe: our whole family had to leave the home – a big house with a big garden and a lot of fine inventory – without taking things with us. We were refugees in the war! Although I was very young this fact stamped me. I was thinking about possession and value. How could it be that a person without possession had no value any more? When I grew up, I thought about the poor people in the world. During my living in Southamerica for one year, I couldn’t dare scarcely the poorness with which I was confrontated there. Always there was the question in me: what can we do to get a better world, a world with more dignity for each person? I tried three times to get out of the system with these unfortunate structures. But I had to return each time. My change Until 17 years before! There I founded an exchange group in Dortmund and noticed that I needed less and less money. I changed most of the things and activities with others without giving money but my know-how! This experience encouraged me to try to live without money for one year. On the first of may 1996 I gave away my whole possession, my home and my insurances. From this time I lived with other people in their houses. I helped them with their doings and received bed and food. When the year was over, I could have returned to my old life without difficulties, because my last profession was a psychotherapist and there were enough clients for me. But I didn’t want to return into my old life. I detected a very different life in this year which was so beautiful!

Living without money

Living without money means to discover the flow of life, to put in motion a new liveliness, enter into a new quality of life, which happens through attention, carefulness and vigilance. To be awake to my own person, to my neighbour, to the society and the whole universe signifies a new intensity, a devotion to life. Instead of running sorrowful after the mammon, put our focus on the material, the outside things now there is the main focus to occurrences from inside, to open the heart and deal out of it. In this way happens a change of values, a change of paradigm, which we need for all the made damages in the world. There is the difference between poor and rich people, the catastrophes in the nature and all the bad things which came from the greediness of money!

Instead money – “gib und nimm” (give and take) What can I do as a single person to change something in the world? I thought about this nearly my whole life. My result I want to present at this point!

There are four things which are very important in our lives:

1.The contact to myself. I have to know what is important for me, whom I am, what I need really and what I like really!

2.The contact to the you! Why don’t I like this person? Why this person makes me so angry? What does it reflect to me. What can I learn? Each person is a teacher for me and not an enemy!!!

3.The contact to the society. It is important that everyone takes care of the environment. We are responsible for the things around us and when we are awake we can handle a lot in the world!

4.the contact to the universe. If we notice that each of us is a cell in the universe we can change our behaviour with other people and the world. If we can see the world like a whole and us like a part of it we change our behavment completely, because we take responsability for all! These four points are all (in my eyes!)

Each point has a color: 1. green 2. yellow 3. red 4. blue! You can see it on the sticker! If you use the sticker there are some things to reflect: First: the sticker means- I want another world!A world with dignity for everyone! Second: if I use the sticker I am open for sharing with others without money (not changing any more) Third: the place for the sticker will be reflected, because there are different meanings. The sticker on a car means that I am ready to share my car or to take people with it. If I put it on the door of my house I would like to have guests in my house. A sticker on my cloth means that you can talk to me. A sticker at my baggage means you can travel with me. There are several possibilities to put it! Goal of it is, that some day we don’t need any more a sign, because we are a big family and care for each other!

My own life is fantastically, I am a happy person who feels a membership to the human beeings and a big love for all of them.

Heidemarie Schwermer, January 2011