By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
THE NEXT iteration of life on this planet is being configured now. Our nation is preparing itself to release America 4.0 -- or 5.0 or 6.0; we've rewritten ourselves several times, so it's hard to be exact. This time, though, we're not going for a zippy new format or the newest batch of bells and whistles -- we're nervously anticipating learning an entirely new operating system. And true to these events, it will likely come to us full of possibilities and problems, with a good many early flaws, bugs to patch and work through.
Other nations around the world are struggling with their new versions, as well. Countries we thought stable are showing themselves riddled with problems. Pakistan and Burma are wobbling, both of them dictatorships propped up by American collusion and indifference; Kenya, previously the most peaceful democracy in Africa, has become a battleground due to its recent skewed election. In the old application, America would ride to the rescue, install a military presence, bend the government to its will; the new version will discontinue the 'rescue for self-interest' feature.
As with all new programs, this next one will have been developed to suit the needs of its users and we have a lot of needs; these next critical years will bring us into a new awareness of what they are. A large number of files and folders will no longer be necessary, many of them appended with .war, and the first release may look a little lean, a bit spare, remarkably scaled down. New beginnings take time to flesh out.
One of the subheadings that will no longer have a place in our basic program is 'class.' In this nation, and certainly across the world, class consciousness defines almost everything in order to limit its power structure -- we are, we think, what we have, what we're 'born to.' That notion is ready to be tested; a basic flaw in the old design.
There's a class war going on in this country and while the talking heads don't call it that, it's easy to see. Think 'New Orleans,' think 'subprime,' think 'immigration.' There's an age old elitist disinterest in what's happening to the little guy, an arrogance of detachment from the suffering of others while focused on the bottom line of profit and power. Marie Antoinette may have lost her head after telling the peasants to "eat cake," but her words still echo across a world pondering (r)evolution. This has exposed a major 'error message' in our traditional governance -- here, in our country, the man who promised to be a "compassionate conservative" has turned out to be neither, and shown us (with a vengeance) the problems with allowing others to define us. It's well past time we defined ourselves.
As we lay down our old baggage, our ancient hurts and wounds, in order to move foreword, we must individually come to a new understanding of our position in the world. We aren't what the neighbors see, we aren't what the government deems us, we aren't a 'demographic' or a tribal definition such as Republican or Buddhist or British or middle class; all of those definitions are open to change. We aren't our gender or our age or our upbringing, either -- none of those things impact our essential self unless we allow them to. We're infinity more, connected with everything -- part of a whole, necessary and important. We add our piece (peace) to the entirety of the puzzle on a daily basis, and thinking that we must limit our value based on tribal definitions or reflections in the mirror is one of the myriad ways we give power away.
Many of us have been on a spiritual path for quite a while, while others are just joining us now. The ascension books of the 90's called these folks 'Third Wavers' -- the previous two waves of increased consciousness came during our 'hippy period' of the 60's and the harmonic convergence of the 80's. We were warned that these late bloomers would find the transition more difficult, crunching so much 'rethink' and 'rewire' into a brief period, and we would find ourselves in a period of emotional violence and mental instability. Perhaps that's why over one quarter of us in this nation find ourselves using mood enhancers to keep our fears at bay. And change IS fearful, especially to those who want to control every aspect of their lives.
The good news is that what was a long, winding process of discovery in the 60's and 80's has been refined into simpler bits of wisdom. There are any number of philosophies available to lift our consciousness, the challenge is to integrate them. We're conditioned to think that 'simple' is less useful than 'complex,' but that is one of those notions that our ego proposes to muddy the waters and make surging ahead nearly impossible. For instance, Miguel Ruiz, author of "The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom"gave us four simple...and challenging...steps from the Toltec tradition, to change our lives:
1.
Be Impeccable With Your Word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
2.
Don't Take Anything Personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.
3.
Don't Make Assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
4.
Always Do Your Best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
You can read more about
Don Miguel and his philosophy here; while the agreements may seem daunting at first and stressful to achieve, you will find that his application of them in his own life has created him a relaxed and positive character. Think about how much your personal experience might change if you took his suggestions to heart -- chew on the possibilities.
We are the programmers of the "new thing" we've been expecting. The old paradigm thought process tells us it's going to arrive one fine day and we will then sort it out -- that is a cloudy view of both our personhood and our responsibility. We are the ones who are demanding change, rewriting the possibilities, and reconfiguring the future. Waiting for others to do it for us is not just lazy, it's impossible -- the collective energy of the entire world is pushing forward toward a new model of life, collaboration, peace and plenty and we are contributing to that with our thoughts and actions every day.
With Mercury in Aquarius, co-ruled by both Saturn (responsibility) and Uranus (innovation) we have the mental stimulus we need to forge ahead in our thought process about a reordered world. Merc is, even now, slowing in its trajectory to give us its first retro of this new year, coming at the end of the month. With Mars traveling backwards in Gemini, ruled by Mercury, we can add a layer of enthusiasm and friction to that energy. For a few brief days in early February, both Merc and Mars will be retro and then Mars will go direct. Mercury will follow a few weeks after. When either of these planets retro, we are looping without a clear path ahead, so having them both go direct will open the energy to release all we've been pondering and reviewing during their backward flight. Let's make that time count!
The new iteration and worldview we anticipate will not ask us how much money we make, what neighborhood we live in or what our portfolio consists of -- it will ask us what we can contribute, what we need collectively and how we can help one another to achieve it. No bit of positive thrust will be "too little" -- each bit will add to the collective whole. Our worthiness will be found within our willingness, integrity and self-understanding. The notion of class, as has been used for endless generations to limit power and garner profit -- the language spoken by Bush's supporters, the "have's" and "have more's" -- will no longer be appropriate to our conversation. We, the people, are simply...us. ALL of us.
It's time for power to balance itself, and that means we must begin to step into our own. Perhaps that is the happiest...and most frightening...proposition of them all, and doing the internal work will make it more a relief and celebration than a white-knuckled terror. We are only afraid of our own power because we do not trust ourselves; if we begin the process of proving ourselves trustworthy, our fears will dissolve. We do not need to be taken care of -- we need to take better care of one another, and follow the path to the head of the class where we will begin to recreate ourselves as the true reflection of a long dreamed of 21st century.
