If you sit back (or lean forward) and inventory the changes in the world in the last 30 years, you must conclude that the old way of thinking about governance, resource division and conflict resolution just won’t work any more. If we are to survive as a species on this planet, we must consciously evolve, and do it pronto.
Take a look at the forces of globalization: the ever-accelerating interconnectednedness of global markets for money, goods, labor, information and services has effectively made governance by sovereign nations obsolete: the design of government as we know it is not up to the task of tackling humanity’s biggest threats, which are are all cross border, if not planetary in nature, for example:
- Environment: Indisputable scientific evidence of environmental conditions that affect the planet and not solely any single sovereign nation continue to roll in, making local regulation of emissions ineffectual.
- Pandemics: People, their germs and their goods move fluidly across borders, making it nearly impossible to isolate infected populations.
- Labor and financial markets: Corporations practice labor arbitrage and move production to places where regulations on such vital issues as health safety and equity don’t add to the cost per unit, shifting entire economies… Markets move in Asia, and US homeowners get foreclosed on.
Idealogies, too, both those that set people free and those that cause divisive labeling (as Dan Dennett says “the -ism is the biggest killer in the history of man”) dance across the planet.
Now add the capabilities for mass devastation by a lone actor, or a rogue group against the collective- where the old ways of warfare or policing are thoroughly obsolete- and you have the ingredients of an explosive cocktail of epic proportions.
Our concept of ourselves as individual cultures, tribes, sovereign nations must shift. Our acceptance of the most ancient forms of tribal violence- intra-species conflicts over perceived scarce resources or differences in idealogies- must change. Our acceptance and condoning of institutions that continue to spread divisive messages must cease.
We must collectively and consciously make an evolutionary leap as a species- and Evolve Beyond what we have known.
Evolve Beyond has three elements:
1) Change your paradigm, or change your frame of reference. The world is not as it once was and the old solutions will NEVER work again. There is no shame in partisanship if you are operating under an old model and don’t know any better- “it’s just the way things are”- but once you clearly see that things have shifted- then you are free to act, to problem solve, and to invite the change that must take place. You will begin to to seek new ways of responding to world conditions. You will begin to question all violence: in yourself, the family, the community and the world. You will see that anything one does that perpetuates the “same old, same old” ways is, at best, just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, and at worst, hastening in the water.
2) Change your mind, and look in the mirror. Before beginning action in the big world, we must take action in the vast little world, the world within. This falls along 2 dimensions: A- training your mind, which will manifest in your own transformation- with the strength and skill to persevere in the movement toward a new humanity, and B- changing your beliefs about what is possible- moving away from limited thinking, confident in the creative power of humanity to problem solve and create the resources humanity needs- whether that is sun vs oil, adequate food or clean water. Re: non-violence, specifically… Michael Bonesteel said it well: “There is only one war: the war in the heart of the individual.” The difference between violence to yourself and abusing your own citizens, the difference between a dispute with a neighbor and a border conflict, the difference between a simmering frustration for an old lover and a factional resentment- these are only matters of scale. Before you can become effective in bringing change to the world, you must begin to transform your own heart and consciousness. You must see and experience humanity’s interconnectednedness through all 6 senses. Doing this will give you the fortitude to take action in a world resistant to change and stay the course.
3) Take Action. From a place of strength and conviction, connected to other people pointing toward change, there are a thousand places to move you into action- locally or universally.
Welcome to Evolve Beyond. Let’s get down to business: what matters most for the people of this fine planet.
More to come.
Shanti- Xtine
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