"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." ~Albert Einstein
In the next few weeks I will lecture at the University of Pittsburgh, the World Affairs Council, San Francisco's Green Festival, Sustainability conferences at Omega and the University of Massachusetts, and a number of other venues.
My co-facilitator Llyn Roberts - of Dream Change - and I will teach the first half of a 16-day Shapeshifting Apprenticeship at Omega and prepare to lead our Prophets Conference December 2010 trip to the Maya of Guatemala where participants will explore the true meaning of the 2012 prophecies with Mayan elders and shamans. I mention all of this because my schedule reflects, I believe, the tidal wave of change that is flooding human consciousness.
The tidal wave is coming as our dreams and our every day lives burst through the old and tired barriers of economically driven greed and return to the foundations of a sustainable and just life for each person in every community.
Our consciousness is changing our perceptions of ourselves and our social and cultural institutions, and this in turn is changing our lifestyles. We hear the indigenous people telling us how everything is tied together, that the spirit of the stone and the spirit of the mountain are inextricably linked to our own spirits. We are dreaming a powerful new way of living within nature, not "conquering" or destroying her.
Every indigenous culture i have worked with believes in the incredible power of dreams. Many equate dreams with the latent energy of the seed and embryo. Their beliefs are not unlike Carl Jung's theory that humanity's collective unconscious contains the knowledge of all past and future events and that dreams are a key for tapping into this vast library of information.
"Dreaming" is the most powerful thing we do in life. It forms the bases for our perceptions, attitudes, emotions, motivations and actions. It occurs all the time, at both conscious and subconscious levels; while we are working, driving our cars, preparing food, reading and watching television -- as well as during sleep. Individual dreams affect the courses of our lives; collective dreams determine the futures of civilization.
The past, the future, the present: we have the ability to blend them into one. We can transform ourselves and our cultures. All we have to do is dream a new dream, give it energy, and it will happen.
Knowing that we truly live in parallel worlds, we also understand that everything is one and it is all occurring concurrently. This means that all the great teachers, wise elders, and shamans are here now, ready to help us. Buddha, Christ, Mohammed, Socrates, Einstein. . . their power is here with us today and it is awesome. This also explains why so many people -- including traditional medical doctors, physicists , and psychologists -- are suddenly being drawn to these "alternative" ways of thinking.
So now more than ever, it is up to us to continue to move forward in our journey of greater consciousness and awareness. I am struck by the signs that we are indeed poised to experience events foretold by the Mayan prophecy of 2012. And I view all these signs with a very positive bent.
Although there are many different interpretations of this prophecy, the one most widely accepted by the Maya teachers I know is taken from the Popul Vuh, the Mayan creation myth. Far from predicting a Hollywood-style doomsday, it holds out the possibility of positive transformation. In its simplest form, the people overthrow an egotistical regime characterized by exploitation and deception and replace it with an enlightened and compassionate one. In the process, the people have to surrender their own egos and endure material and environmental hardships.
December 21, 2012 was identified by the Maya as the time when this transformation will become most obvious. It was an auspicious date for them because their astrologers predicted that at that moment the sun would move into alignment with the center of the Milky Way. Modern scientists, not the Mayas, offer theories that the earth's climate and magnetic poles may be changing.
Whether or not you believe in this Mayan prophecy, you -- we -- can agree that our consciousness is shifting. With the success of the movie Avatar and real-life victories of indigenous tribes against the corporatocracy in places like Ecuador and Bolivia, we experience the deep power of our dreams for a better world. We are dreaming and demanding sustainability.
I believe the real message of 2012 is a call to action based on the knowledge that we can transform ourselves. It echoes down through the centuries from a people who built the magnificent pyramids that continue to enthrall and mystify visitors to the Yucatan Peninsula and who also created one of history's most accurate calendars -- the one that ends in 2012.
So, as I head out to these speaking engagements, I feel that the real tidal wave is not the one shown in movies that attempt to terrify us about a coming doomsday; rather, we are experiencing a tidal wave of changing consciousness.
I know you will be one of those swept up in this tidal wave, who dreams new dreams and, by doing so, joins our partnership to transform the world. looking forward to riding this wave with you.