‘It is no longer the time to be better, it is the time to be otherwise’
Satprem
For thousands of years humanity has been conquerors. We never thought about opening our borders to entire nations; sharing resources; and grouping together as larger bodies of nations. We built fortresses, great walls, and opened our doors only a crack to let the caravans of exchange slither through to bring luxury goods. And now the whole planet depends on the global exchange of basic necessities and goods. Now the nations of the world are negotiating how we can next shift toward a planetary society. Yet still the old minds prevail; wishing to control this transition by controlling the resources and the consequences. Such old ways, and models, are hoping that the planet can be held in the greedy hands of the few, as it has been until now. Yet this is not how things are going to manifest – there are other forces now emerging that wish to assist in this coming together as a planetary society. And these ‘other forces’ are manifesting through the hearts and minds of the people of the planet. A collective force is arising through humanity that knows – instinctively feels – that other ways are now needed if we wish to transition to a new era within sustainable and harmonious limits.
This has never happened before because this point was never reached before. And why humanity never reached this point before is simply because it was not ready. In terms of new ideas and innovative thinking, it’s a case of ‘we don’t yet know the things we don’t know!’ New ideas come when we are ready to make use of them – it’s a process of activating access to information, rather than of significant discovery by accident! This process is difficult to frame in a ‘rational’ manner; especially since humans like to think of themselves as the central agents of free thought and discovery. That’s why we have the syndrome of simultaneous invention/discovery, when suddenly multiple persons happen to have breakthroughs almost at the same time – history is full of such examples. Coincidence? No, it’s called re-calibration…
New ideas are simply things we’ve never thought of…until they arrive. And they will arrive – increasingly so as we move into a time where a different frequency/energy of consciousness is manifesting. And with this will arrive solutions to some of our most pressing problems – especially around energy and resources. The solutions are already there: we are just waiting for the ‘Aha’ moment! You don’t have to believe me; just wait and see. There are those people now who are working hard on the problems; and many young minds are soon going to join the laboratory of human problem solving. Connecting, collaborating, sharing ideas and thoughts – the planetary membrane of consciousness is an active crucible of change and vision.
At each moment of need the human mind accesses solutions to overcome the current pressing problems. Once there were predictions that the world would run out of wood to burn…then we discovered coal. Then came oil and electricity; and once again we are standing on the collective problematic precipice of need – will we leap into the abyss of chaos and breakdown? Or will humankind somehow breakthrough yet again? In times of need, new solutions come into existence. We need to prepare for the structural changes that will accommodate these new developments. Instead of lingering in the stagnant swamps of static thought, we should be acquiring an evolutionary perspective. And this is a perspective of sudden and innovative breakthroughs (what evolutionary biologists refer to as ‘punctuated equilibrium’)* Just as in our human fossil record, so too in our patterns of human consciousness: long periods of stasis followed by sudden leaps of progress and change. Often in those periods of stasis the seeds of developmental change are planted. The farmer knows that planted seeds do not sprout overnight. Philosophers, artists, creative change agents, amongst others, all work to plant the seeds of evolutionary potential. Then when the right temperature arrives (when the ‘cosmic wind blows’), the crops will gain their moment of optimum nutrition and push rapidly through the topsoil to partake of the sun’s rays – rapid growth will thus occur.
Our seeds have been planted – and continue to be planted – and the new sun is radiating upon the Earth. These seeds of radical and necessary change are poking through our planetary topsoil, and will be the harvest for the generations to come. We need to start getting excited about this – rather than lingering too long in the despondent waiting rooms of old energy. The cotton (yourself) needs to get closer to the flame – if you wish to be set alight!
This next phase in human evolution will be focused on internal development – which means forming greater contact with one’s self. Of course, there will be impressive technological changes emerging too, yet a balance will need to be found where our technologies work in conjunction with our real needs, rather than as crutches to conquer the world ‘out there’. It is likely that technologies will become less abrasive and more subtle, even blending into the background of our everyday lives. This is already occurring, as we have shifted from the telegraph cable, to optic fiber, and now to wifi – and this transition into the ethereal will continue**. Yet the real question will concern how we, as individuals within the collective, learn to access our own truths. This will be the essence of the re-calibration needed upon this small yet beautiful planet of ours – and will be the heart of the genuine revolution set to occur.
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctuated_equilibrium
** See my book ‘New Revolutions For A Small Planet’ for more discussion on this subject.
