Why I Left the Zeitgeist Movement - Prologue

This is the story how an activist of the strongest convictions can come to a point where he has to question his own stance and worldview to the core, and eventually concede that he has to break free from something that seemed so unparalleled and magnificent mere weeks and months before.

It's my story of how I severed a much cherished part of myself in order to keep growing when I could finally see the need for it, when I finally knew that I had overlooked major aspects to reality in my TZM studies, when I knew I had to take responsibility for myself and what I had learned in the meantime. Insights that found no serious ground within the framework of TZM ideology but that had become absolutely essential to me as a human being.

From where I am standing today, even more important than the reasons for joining TZM back in the day are the reasons I actually left it. Why? Because in microcosms of research, worldview and understanding certain facets and issues tend to be overlooked and ignored. Especially in circles with high conviction in their own cause. Modern ligo calls this "echo chambers". As long as you are part of one you'd be outraged if someone from the outside suggested that you are actually barking up the wrong tree. "Oh you just don't understand this stuff enough to make such a broad and uninformed criticism." Well, maybe they do and we just can't take them seriously because we are in so deep that we can't see the forest for all the trees.

Noticing this in oneself and being open-minded enough to consider oneself has fallen into an ideological trap takes guts and a great deal of humility. But it is essential if we want to inch ever closer to a true understanding of reality. Anyone can proclaim to be open-minded but in the end questioning one's own convictions is the test any sincere truthseeker has to undergo and pass. And then move on accordingly. Don't ever get stuck on one understanding for too long - especially if there are solid reasons to evolve one's understanding beyond the confines of the previous stage.

And so, as former activist and coordinator of the Zeitgeist Movement I feel I owe my reasons for leaving to all those who still consider themselves to be active members today, thinking they have a full picture of actuality when in fact they may have greatly overlooked matters of grave importance in their avid quest for the truth. Matters that - despite the proclaimed open-minded mode of inquiry within TZM - never come up to a degree that they are even entertained, let alone taken seriously to warrant sincere discussion. Too much is assumed and presupposed which is precisely not in line with scientific method that is so often cited as a guide to insight within tzm.

I figure I will do this in parts again because there is a lot to it and I need to sort my thoughts so that it can become as coherent as I would like. It needs to be coherent if I want the case to be concise and strong.

So here it comes, appropriately continuing my old series "What I Learned in the Zeitgeist Movement" with my rationale for eventually leaving it, and why that was one of the best decisions in my life.

Until then, if you want to catch up on the original series on why I joined in the first place you can do so here: