As the world witnesses the approaching election of a new American president, many voice the same query — “How did we get to a place where someone like Donald Trump could become the leader of the ‘New World’?”
Apparently, just as equally stated, “I don’t trust Hilary Clinton, but she is the lesser of two evils.” Clearly, the power of wealth and the political divide operating in the United States is representative of what ails our society at a global scale. Whether we are confronted with Black Lives Matter, Idle No More or civil war in Syria, dissenting voices are rallying to be heard. So, what are these “signs of our times” attempting to show us? Are we doomed to lives of crisis, bigotry and violence, or can we transcend our limitations and become peaceful, prosperous nations in a global community of the same?
Often history can help us maintain a hopeful, rather than despondent, perspective of current events. In that vein, I began reading The Aquarian Conspiracy written by Marilyn Ferguson (1980) whose story of hope sees the turbulent twentieth century as “driving us into the change and creativity dreamt of through the ages.”
What began in the 1960s — a rising demand for a voice in the decisions controlling our lives — will spread to every sphere. […] If the ’60s brought our birth and development, the ’80s and ’90s will be our years of maximum influence and maturity. […] We will not be a protesting fringe, because the fringe of yesterday is the mainstream of tomorrow. We will not be protesting but proposing solutions: an energy program emphasizing renewable resources … democratic restructuring of large corporations … technology to decentralize decision-making and information. Marilyn Ferguson
Physicist Fritjof Capra agreed with her when he said, “The 1980s will be a revolutionary time because the whole structure of our society does not correspond with the world-view of emerging scientific thought.” Ferguson also believed that every human system — family, education, healthcare, politics, etc. — would be irrevocably transformed by the social conspiracy that grew out of the 60s and continued into the 80s and 90s. Outlined below are some of her 1980 glimpses of the shifting paradigms of power and politics.
As I pondered Ferguson’s 1980s assumptions about power and politics, I find after thirty-six years, they still register significant relevance. The critical shift Ferguson alludes to throughout her seminal book is from a need for external validation to a personal awakening of self-awareness, personal fulfillment and service to others. In her NY Times bestseller, she spelled out humanity’s two essential strategies for coping — the way of avoidance or the way of attention.
Our familiar tactics for avoiding pain, conflict and fear led us to ever-accumulating amounts of stress, which further alienated us from being self-aware. As described by Ferguson, the conspiracy formed to divert us away from denial, distraction and avoidance into self-awareness. From a mind-body perspective, this involves the integration of the left (rational) and right (intuitive) brain; what she called whole-brain knowing.
Today, we might refer to the same as whole-person being. Most of these whole-person techniques — yoga, meditation and other ancient and/or eastern spiritual/healing philosophies — have infiltrated our western ways of being and are practiced by mainstream culture. A primary result emerged from shifting to a whole-person perspective — accepting the truth that no person or thing is responsible for our feelings, thoughts, words and deeds. Simply put, each of us creates our own reality.
If things go wrong in the world,” Jung said, “something is wrong with me. Therefore, if I am sensible, I shall put myself right first. Carl Jung
As most of us know from personal experience, putting ourselves right first creates the climate for others to model our behaviour and follow suit. Furthermore, the insight and wisdom that follows from a path of self-discovery answers the age-old questions — Who am I? What is the nature of the universe? Why are we here? — thus, supporting both individual enlightenment and collective evolution.
Although we may see an American leader of the old paradigm emerge as president, I think it is fair to say that as Aquarian Conspirators, we have reached a tipping point where many of our dreams are on the verge of unfolding. Although my childhood dream of peace and plenty is not yet mainstream, I see conspirators from around the globe collaborating to make it so. If you are still in disbelief, then ask yourself this question, “Does it feel as though we are moving toward enlightened evolution?” IMHO, the answer is yes.
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