12.21.12 – The Birth of World 5.0

The Winter Solstice of this year, 12.21.12, is the most auspicious occasion in modern memory. No other date resonates with such ancient warnings and curious attention. No other date has offered so much speculation. And our actual science-based information on this topic is close to nil. Wow.

What we are told is that this is to be a time of great transition, perhaps bringing an end to our civilization and even our lives. If so, what happens afterward is of no concern. Others think we face a ‘Y2K’ like experience, a barely noticeable blip on the radar, if there is anything noticeable at all. A third group imagines we face a great awakening, a new ‘Age of Aquarius’ with a suddenly enlightened culture full of peace and love, with rich and rewarding relationships for us all.

In less than two weeks we’ll know much more clearly. As the founder of World 5.0, I’m especially curious of what is to come. The notion of World 5.0 came to me some eight years ago, and I’ve been enchanted with the idea ever since. I’ve written a book on the topic [free download from world5.org], produced a Declaration video, and posted any number of articles and musings on the topic. After this auspicious date of 12.21.12, World 5.0 may well become the recognized ‘operating system’ for our culture as we move forward.

Why? Because it brings truth. It recognizes that Life Is This Moment, there is no reality outside of here and now. This is the first truth. Such an obvious recognition should be the central pillar of science and religion. That Now is not recognized as the singular point of reality is a clear sign of our confused culture.

Next is the recognition of the central role of our intent in determining the quality and flow of our lives. Indeed, it is how we use our intent here and now that determines our view of the world, and from that view we create our perceptions and those perceptions dictate our level of happiness. Most simply, the constant choice we face is between love and fear, and only one is grounded in peace. This is the second truth. “The problem is never what the fear says it is. The problem is always fear itself.”

The third truth is quite simple – only Love makes us happy.

It is only when we find our common ground here in Life, and appreciate the power of our intent that we begin to find our true selves. And it is only when we find our true selves that we can be effective change agents in creating a culture of peace and love. Otherwise our lack of clarity will infuse the process with fundamental flaws such as we have in the globalized system today.

It does not seem an accident that this auspicious date finds humanity in the throes of crisis. Global warming, desertification, species annihilation, food and water shortages, dysfunctional government and generally a world gone awry. Such is the outcome one would expect if studying the effects of globalization on culture. We need a new model, where money is not the ultimate arbiter of success and power – which many of us see this death and birth as being about.

World 5.0 sees that our culture must rebalance toward feminine ideals. We need cooperation more than competition. We need nurturing more than authority. We need curiosity instead of judgment. We need togetherness instead of winners and losers. We need to be citizens, not consumers.

How does this play out in our culture? For starters we refuse the goal of ‘getting ahead’ as that necessarily leaves others behind. We refuse war as we stand for peace. We engage with everyone we meet, seeing a reflection of ourselves in each sister and brother. We enliven our local communities with our love, and apply pressure to government to effect positive change. We support local food and energy production. In short, we live honest, meaningful [and surprisingly happy] lives.

So, while we cannot yet see whether galactic alignments, solar storms, a polar shift or some other unrecognized force will wreak havoc on our planet, the truth is we have already done just that, and treated our sisters and brothers poorly in the process. Scapegoating corporations and governments, deserving though they may be, does nothing to heal our tragic situation. We must awaken and claim our personal power, leaving corruptive influences behind.

What we can see is that the same truth holds regardless of what happens on December 21st, 2012. In our personal lives it is our intent that empowers us or causes us to continue in illusions. It is our engagement in our neighborhood and local communities that creates substantive change. It is in holding the space of peace, in holding the warmth of love, that we align with the great Tao we call Life.

The truth, the lovely thing about the decay and rebirth we’re undergoing, is that this marker of 12.21.12 is the culminating point of a long and unsteady process of growing up for our species. We are finally putting away adolescent behavior and finding each other. We are finally resetting our priorities to align with relationship, community and ecology. We are awakening.

Imagine a world without war, a world where hunger is eliminated and there’s plenty of clean water for all. A world where relationships and communities are the priority – not corporatism. Imagine growing and eating healthy food, growing weed and industrial hemp, stopping the pollution and GMO risks from the agribiz food model. Imagine a functional, responsive government. Imagine millions of us working to heal the planet – planting trees, mitigating pollution, reducing carbon use, restoring our oceans. Imagine us becoming deeply attuned to Mother Earth.

The process? First we align with The Three Truths to ground ourselves Here in Life and to master our intent. We can’t repair the world when we’re distracted, wounded and otherwise enslaved by the old system. We must each find our true self and allow it to emerge.

Next we must connect. We must immerse ourselves in being the connective tissue of a new, holistic culture based on peace and love. We must let our integrity shine forth, as it lights the path to peace. And we must engage, as this very process of engaging IS Love.

One by one we leave the madness of the old broken world behind, choosing instead to make our home Here in Life. Already there are millions of us sharing this quest of healing, and sharing this passion to restore our lives and our Earth. As we learn to find our ground, connect and build a system of ethics, we awaken World 5.0. Perhaps we’re on the edge of a reckoning with the system of globalization. And the old system has no chance against the power of Life.

Join Us. Life Is. Onward.

The Drums of War: Iran Edition

We Americans are not the best at history. Because of the spin of corporate-controlled media, we are not reminded of the consistent pattern of deception exhibited by our government when the ‘power behind the wheel’ wants a new conflict. Nor are we reminded of the tremendous profitability of war for the corporations who count on such conflicts to inflate their bottom line. It’s a disturbing and disgusting business.

Let’s review a bit. The United States has initiated over 50 wars and conflicts since World War II, far more than any other nation and likely more than all other nations combined. Whether Vietnam, Panama, Kosovo/Serbia, or even the tiny island of Grenada, the U.S. government uses war to further the goals of empire [read enriching corporations] and to distract us from other, often more urgent, issues. And this at a phenomenal cost – in terms of money, ecology and most importantly human life.

Of course the more recent focus has been on the Middle-east, part of the U.S.plutocracy’s plan to dominate the arena of energy. Since that’s where the oil is, massive energy companies like Exxon, BP, Royal Shell, Total and Chevron have gamed the system to keep us enmeshed in Iraq, Afghanistan and now potentially Iran. In Iraq, these corporations have now secured new oil contracts after getting the boot by Saddam Hussien 30 year ago, thanks to the role our government played in this ongoing debacle.

Let’s not forget that, while we’re ‘officially’ troop-free in Iraq, there are still thousands of U.S. paid mercenaries in that foreign country, and that we left that country with estimates ranging from 200,000 to a million dead Iraqi citizens. From a human perspective, it’s unfathomable that we, as in the U.S. government, not only allowed but actually lead such actions. And let’s not forget all the lies and media manipulation that were part of the drumbeat to attack Iraq.

The story is similar in Afghanistan. Not as oil rich, Afghanistan has a wealth of minerals and more importantly is strategically located for pipelines to transport oil and natural gas. There are those who suggest that plans for attacking Afghanistan were laid well before 911 and the idea of removing Osama Bin Ladin, the presumed justification for an attack of that war-torn country.

And now, it’s apparently time for the Iran Edition of war. With Iran the dynamics are a little more complex due to the long-standing animosity between Iran and Israel, America’s favorite client state. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seems to enjoy tweaking the Israeli establishment, proclaiming that the Holocaust was fabricated. And yet the ever-over-reactive Israeli government now feels it has little choice but to ‘defend’ itself by attacking Iran. This even though Iran is still years away from a nuclear weapon, if that is even its intent. [Iran claims its nuclear ambitions are strictly energy-related.] And of course, Israel will not act without at least implicit support from the U.S.

So, what can we, the people do to prevent such nefarious behavior by our government? This is a challenge. The millions that protested globally back in the spring of 2003 did not prevent the U.S. from attacking Iraq. Even the hundreds of thousands of protesters that marched on Washington in September of the same year were almost completely ignored by politicians and corporate-owned media.

But there is hope. First, let’s recognize that the dynamics have changed. There was no Occupy Movement when we attacked Iraq. While the Occupy Movement is in a bit of disarray right now as it finds its grounding, I do not doubt that an attack on Iran would be a wildly cohesive event for Occupy. We Occupiers understand the sharp connection between war and profit.

Also, there are more voices than ever reminding us of the U.S. government’s predilection toward war. Peace groups are coalescing, building coalitions and gaining members and strength. The new lies about the ‘Iran Nuclear Threat’ [always there is the threat to justify the despicable behavior called war] are less believable after the lies of Iraq and Afghanistan.

And finally, there is little taste among the vast majority of Americans for another war. We’re broke and we’re wounded and we’re burnt out from these recent fiascoes, and it seems likely that those elected representatives that encourage and/or vote for war with Iran will pay a price come this November’s election.

I do not expect ‘wiser heads will prevail’ to be the sentiment in Washington. There are few wise heads left in that desert of integrity. And being in middle of this circus we call an election cycle, the rhetoric is even worse. But the politicians will see the writing on the wall if we make the effort to raise our voices condemning this idea of war on Iran. They are self-preservation minded.

Raising our voices. This is what we require in these uncertain times and stuck within this broken system. Today’s lesson? Democracy is not a spectator sport.

In Fearful Times

In times like these, it is easy to succumb to the darkness around us. The seeming endless struggle, the constant strife, war, illness, dark mood, and hopelessness so apparent in our culture today – it can leave one in pieces.

Fortunately, there is an alternative. There is another way of thinking, feeling, believing and being that the old culture will not recognize. It is a recognition many of us already know. It is the simple recognition of us all here together in Life.

This is our Home. Our place of rest. Our hope for constant contact with Life, and/or God or insert name here. In a culture utterly reliant on bullshit, understanding our common ground is vital.

The answer is always within. And it is always Here. The answer is awareness. While it may be confused with consciousness or intent, awareness does not rely on our recognition. Awareness Is. Eternally. As children of Awareness, such is our truth as well.

What need we fear if our condition is eternal, and we shed bodies as so many clothes or acts in a play. We are ever swimming through the constant flow of events, demarcating our eternal play.

Awareness has no need of words. Indeed, we too often use words to hide, our minds filled with chatter of little value. Of value beyond measure is our relationship, together, right Now among this incredible vastness of Awareness we call Life.

Even Now we are Awakening to the truth of ourselves and our lives together. Even Now we are recognizing the utter savagery and corruption of the elite controlled world we grew up in. Even Now we are finding Peace and Love. This eternal peace of Awareness. This constant energy of Love.

The Greatest Truth of All

In the confused, corrupt and dysfunctional culture we live in, it’s difficult to know anything as ‘true’. This general confusion is of course intentional, with the global elites [overlords] using their power to keep us impotent and frankly, stupid.

Still, even the global elites cannot keep from us the greatest truth of all. It is easily discerned once we open ourselves to its truth. It is the central fact of our existence. It is the singular truth with the power to awaken us and help us survive, and even thrive, in a broken system.

So enough of the tease. If you haven’t guessed, the greatest truth of all is our shared existence in Life – sweet Life, which exists only Now, and yet somehow continues eternally.

Indeed, we are all Here, Now, and we are Here Now forever. Indeed, we are capable of being nowhere else, because there is nowhere else. As the old adage goes, “Yesterday’s gone and tomorrow never comes.” Indeed, even beyond our biological death we continue in this parade forever.

How is something so clear and so obvious so lost in these times? The simple answer is that it has served the interests of Empire to keep us disempowered, as mentioned above.

The way forward? It starts with the clear recognition of where we are. Regardless of our thoughts, feelings and beliefs, we remain here. Together.

With this as the case, what matters is what we think, feel and believe right now. What do we want to hold in our minds? In our hearts? What beliefs do we hold that do not stand up to this new light? Religious beliefs, tribal beliefs, personal beliefs that we refuse to examine, as we did not understand the ground [LIFE] on which we stand.

Our Earth hurls through space, nurtured by the Sun, with some 8 billion humans and innumerable others all riding her. In our broken world, she suffers, even as we do. The way to a better place begins with the simple recognition of our life together – Now.