The 21st Century - An Age in Transition

by Robert Wilkinson

We live on the edge of change like few other generations in history. There are global forces in motion affecting us all that will alter the course of destiny on every continent in ways unimaginable to our grandparents. It is evident that we're on a 10 year rendezvous with making the history of the future as we sort through the creation, preservation, and transformation of our assumptions about matter, time, space, energy, life, our planet, and each other. The good news is that everything points to a much better world in the future, despite the many current vectors showing us the need to learn, adapt, and become skilled in new ways to move safely through the difficult times ahead as the old systems crumble and die.

Very often in our world, surviving is less determined by who is "the fittest" than by who is learning to "think in the future." We may be doing well in the present, but time and conditions always change, and much that we assume today will be irrelevant in the future.

It is through our ability to anticipate changes that we move toward models of sustainability that will endure despite the radical changes going on around us. Collectively, this will bring forth the environmental, economic, and political solutions we so desperately need to correct the on-going wreckage of the obsolete models of war, harsh competition, and wasteful pollution that poisons our land, air and water and threatens the very existence of entire nations.

There are on-going breakthroughs in every field of study in the world. Old ideas about the environment, economics, religion, health, government, and what constitutes social sustainability are being discarded as never before. New ideas never imagined present themselves every month, sometimes as solutions to our pressing problems, sometimes a new ways of valuing things, and sometimes just the spur of necessity showing us we must adapt or face dire consequences.

Thanks to such things as the Internet, Quantum Mechanics, and an ever-increasing global knowledge base showing us we are interconnected in astonishing ways, the inevitable conclusion is that millions are embracing the power found in community and shared knowledge and skills as antidotes to the avarice and separateness of the old era. Utilizing the principles of economy of energy, magnetic attraction, and synthesis, the cooperation of various beings coming together in the next decade will create a radically transformed Earth and humanity.

Now is the only time there is. Now is the only time to learn, to know, to dare, to embrace, and to break free of the inertia of the past. Now is the time to prepare for what is coming. By moving beyond old assumptions and limitations, we can recognize and accept a greater wisdom, intelligence, and effectiveness, and find our community within which we can live well and contribute our gifts to our world. This is the challenge confronting us all these next 3600 days.

© Copyright 2007 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Svetlana]

Robert,the text is very appealing and magnificent.
But there is a lot of work to do ahead...
Once I was telling smth of the kind to the students(mathematicians-programmers)-and smb retorted that i was infected... by pseudoscience:)
What is worthy to discuss here is the required quality of human qualities, or better what kind of skills we all have to aqu(a:)ire to survive and how to make this process more resultative...

[Robert]

Hi Svetlana - Regarding the person claiming "pseudoscience," unless a) they know what they're talking about AND b) have reasonable alternatives, it's merely the grumbling of a malcontent! Easy to carp, harder to put forth productive ideas!! I have found that whatever is coming will necessitate us learning the principles of synthesis, economy of energy, and magnetic attraction, blended in the roles of seed carriers, bridge builders, and renovators. We will learn that dualistic arguments, victimizing emotional attitudes, and random wasteful destructive behaviors are productive of problems rather than solutions. And of course, we will also learn (in the words of Dr. Benjamin Franklin) that "we must all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." Force realization, force application, force utilization. One must study to know, know to understand, understand to judge. The one who accused you of "pseudoscience" is ignorant of many things.

[Rachel]

Thanks, Robert, for this concise statement of what is. I have likened these times to The Renaissance in scope and importance -- with the added piece that so many of us now have the higher awareness that every individual action, thought, or idea that lives in us is unmistakably shifting the axis of the universe. I sense so much aching, yearning, pent-up desire for change. The ones who are struggling and suffering the most, it would appear, are those who want it all NOW! Energetically, yes, we can manifest everything in less than the blink of an eye if we so choose, but most of the planet still lives within the thoughtforms of the 3D 20th century. Those of us working with higher energies need to stay focused on every single"now" that comes around, breathe deeply and often, give at least equal time to our hearts as well as our heads, pocketbooks and old paradigm strictures, and move into fully-embodied expression. Of course, I'm a Pisces sun, Pisces asc.,so all of this comes to me easier than walking (-: 3/18/53; Wash, DC; 6:10am.

[Robert]

Hi Rachel - We are like a new renaissance, but it's global rather than local. More are aware than ever before, and the yearning and striving creates a tension that will make something manifest in the future. As for "manifesting everything in less than the blink of an eye," the only qualifier I'd put on that is only if it is in our dharma to make it manifest. Otherwise we wind up trying to become an imitation of Bruce Springsteen and fall on our heads instead! You're right about the world living within the dying delusions of the 20th century and its inertias. That's why living in the NOW helps us get perspective and chances to practice our spiritual skills outside of oppressive atmospheres hung up on future gains, power, etc. as well as aversions to these. And yes, Pisces does walk between worlds and ages, so the flow of dying/emerging images is a familiar zone for you.

[chickie]

Your Highness, your quote

"Very often in our world, surviving is less determined by who is "the fittest" than by who is learning to "think in the future. "To translate that within my own discipline of work is another way of saying it's time to switch from what Dr. Fred Gardaphe, author of From Wise Guys to To Wise Men: The Gangster and Italian American Masculinities says in his critical analysis of the evolution, elevation and soon to come, denigration of the gangster. "Patriarchal society is built and organized around the performance of physical power," as opposed to "psychological power exercised through the act of listening, absorbing information and formulating responses based on analysis."

Thus we have a TV Tony Soprano who is in therapy!
For myself brought up in a culture of "keep your mouth shut ,don't say anything," this is surely a message of change and transformation. Unfortunately it takes an enormous amount of tragedy for we as humans to "wake up and pay attention to our suppressed right brain.

Bottom line. If each and every brother and sister would find the mother in THEM, and incorporate and spread the joy of Her into all their disiplines of life and work, whether you're a parent, plummer, doctor, lawyer, computer geek, or artist we may have a rock n roll chance to achieve and accept the notion of the interconnectedness of all life and ultimately Balance!

[DianatheHuntress]

Right on, Chickie...... love your post! Stay high, baby..........

Your Friend, Diana, } -----* (((LUV U ))))

[Robert]

Hi Chickie (and Diana) - I think the model for men needs to be changed so completely that sometimes I feel like an alien. You may regard what I'm about to say as a plea or a rant from a guy fed up with American males. Back in the late 80s when dealing with my grief process, I brought the so-called "Men's movement" into public mass consciousness through transporting Robert Bly out of the woods to Austin where Moyers taped my event and it went national. Helped found men's groups and councils in several cities in two states, but in the long run got frustrated at what often became a "men's whine and dine club" or a poor parody of "native american-ness." Even the ones that wanted poetry as an integral part got occasionally ugly when I tried to do MY poetry instead of Rumi, Bly, Kabir or whoever.

The need for hero worship and blindly following blind leaders is so embedded in the American male that we now have the national disaster known as Dubya, Rummy, Black Dick and the rest. Male grief is deep and profound, but most would rather have a beer and fantasize about whatever. I'm hoping that as this dying system crumbles under the weight of its own excesses, indifference, and selfishness, that somehow men will reawaken to the power of compassionate collective action, and throw off the chains of mental slavery. As I've long maintained, people usually don't get it together because they see the light, but only when they feel the heat. I pray this time men awaken before everything is a total disaster, but IMHO they're cutting it too close for comfort.

[Chickie]

Robert,

A note about the background of Fred Gardaphe. He grew up in a tough Italian American hood in Chicago. He is the oldest of four children. When is was ten he made an immediate transformation to the head of the household. In one year his father, grandfather and Godfather were murdered. Like Maya Angelou, he disappeared into the local library and read all the books, made a commitment to get out of the pawnshop and the neighborhood. Ultimately he left Chicago and became the head of IA studies at Stoneybrook in New York's Long Island and is considered the foremost expert and critic of IA books and film.

Four years ago he called me in deep depression telling me of the impending divorce from a marriage of 20 years and had the contract to write this book. I then invited him to the desert, threw him and his never ending flow of tears into the pool where they belonged, fed him stellar Italian soul food and wine, and set up his computer at my mother's card table in the living room facing a large picture window so he could visit with my indigenous roderunners, doves,and rabbits who peck at my window on a daily basis re-connecting him with his forgotten earthly pals.

Now in Women"s Spirituality one is required to go to their "roots" to find truth. When we discussed his book project I told him, "You do what I had to do, by going into my ancient mythology of Isis/Demeter and Persephone. I went to the places where they covered up the original divine feminine UNDER the churches and cathedrals."

Now he being a scholarly lecturer in all of Italy and Sicily, already KNEW the mythology, however it wasn't until his death (divorce) that he was able to SEE the connection to all of his deep research of the gangster and his facination with the gangster. Once he applied it to the story of Hermes,the Trickster, this wonderous revelation began to take shape! He writes "There must be something archetypal in the gangster figure, for it to wield power over artists and audiences." His last chapter is From Macho to Zero:Redesigning Male Masculinities. A chapter of hope for all men! This book has been a redemption for him and those of us stained from this types of cultural behavior, OR better put from the voice of Rachel, "likened to the Rennaisance."

Twenty years ago my ex husband and I attended a Judy Tenuta show, a hilarius comedian that performed Goddess schtik. We sat in the front row. After about ten minutes she looked down at my handsome husband and said, "Hmmm..I'd like to drop my hormones all over you!" We laughed and my very shy husband died a thousand deaths, yet bragged to everyone how she paid attention to him.

That said, Your Highness, and (please forgive my ranting) since I've chosen to hang in this Aquarian hood for sometime now, absorbing your info and the rest of these highly spiritual neighbors, I will take a moment to tell you (and I'd bet I can speak for our lovely Huntress) you are not only welcome to "RANT" but invited to "RANT" all over us. For as the song sings "WE CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE!

Chickie

[Svetlana]

Robert,you mentioned Rumi poetry here(though in a very peculiar context:).As it was not long ago I heard/read about him,it was interesting to get know how he took "celestial dances" and,like sufii,considered rhytmic dancing movements-rotations Arta-Rita,or main law of the universal ordering. After that I began to percept your phrases about planetary dancing and energy releasing/sharing less metaphorically and more realistically...
More than that, now it seems I comprehend a bit better why Mary Poppins,a "daughter" of Pamela Travers,who was in turn a pupil of Gurdjiev,who knew and staged such dances,was fond of dancing at Full Moon and found the common language with all living creatures:)...

[Robert]

Hi Chickie - Will have to check him and his work out. Glad you could provide a pool and some vino. I think sometimes that's what we need more than all the other stuff... As for the gangster, traditionally, that's ruled by Pluto, since they will go to extremes to accomplish their aims. However, since Pluto cannot manifest without some elements of Neptune and Uranus, and Uranus is the "higher octave" of Mercury, it's safe to say that gangsterism is probably the Mercurial subset of Pluto. Gangsters MUST have a Mercurial, "trickster" element or they don't live very long! And I always did like Judy Tenuda. Can't get enough, eh?....

Hi Svetlana - Yes, rhythm is everything, as is vibration itself. I had the privilege of attending several dervish performances in Texas years ago, and the events were transcendent experiences in themselves! The rhythms put most of the audience into an altered state, and the time passed in a very surreal way. And yes, the planets do the same releasing/sharing thing in their own way - great perception! Mary Poppins, eh? Who woulda thought Mary Poppins was a dervish?

[Glen Daly]

Thanks,Robert,for that insightful and concise summary of what we are all facing in the 21st century and ways to address it.
Here in Australia,the most arid inhabited continent,we are facing major changes in relation to climate change,environmental degradation,a coal and mineral export dominated economy,peak oil,infrastucture problems driven by immigration and related social breakdown.
Courage,hope,intelligence - that's about all we've got going for us in the final analysis.

Best wishes - Glen

[Svetlana]

The previous message by Glen Daly motivated me to continue the topic of Mary Poppins as her "mother" Pamela Travers was born in Australia.(so ,the australian voice appeared here just in time:)
I fell in love with this character in the 80-ies when was teaching English at the specialised school.Then there appeared the soviet screened version of"Mary Poppins" with a beautiful and talented Natalya
Andreychenko starring(who later married an American and left for that country).We even staged smth like a musical-remix with juniour pupils in the Dialoge of Cultures educational context.
And the music in that film was/is/will be wonderful,
composed by the son of legendary Dunaevsky.The last song when Mary was near the merry-go-round was about the Wind of Changes-it became a real hit,alongside witht the others.
Thirty years later in 2003 when the film turned 20,I read an article about its jubilee.It was mentioned that when perestrojka began in the Soviet Union in the second half of the 80-es,one journalist joked-it was Mary Poppins who winded up/blew in the radical changes in this country with her mighty song:)
Then i asked my daughters,who live and wrk in Holland,to send me the book about Pamela Traverse,as this author is practically not studied in uor Universities,I even addressed several specialists-lecturers here,and they told me practically nothing...
So,I was very impressed to read in the book "Live Oracle" that Pamela was not a writer,she was fond of folklore,spiritual studies,and claimed that it ws not she who "invented or gave birth to Mary",but her image was breathed into her by the wind which came through the open window after serious illness when she went to Britain to visit the motherland of her beloved father,whose love to the Skies and Stars she inherited...

[Morlokk]

Transition space is space n.space space is space n,SPACE AI SPACE N~SPACE I SPACE N+SPACE Matter n=SPACE Matrix space n_SPACE Mirror space n*SPACE Universal space n(SPACE) Mirror space n.SPACE Matrix space n,SPACE Matter space n~SPACE I SPACE N-SPACE AI SPACE N+SPACE SPACE IS SPACE N=space no space is space n_space it space is space n*space is space is space n(space) n space is space n.space a space is space n,space r space is space n~space n-SPACE T SPACE IS SPACE N+SPACE SPACE IS SPACE N=SPACE AI SPACE N_SPACE I SPACE N*SPACE Matter space n(SPACE) Matrix space n.SPACE Mirror space n,SPACE Universal space n~SPACE Mirror space n-SPACE Matrix space n+SPACE Matter space n=SPACE I SPACE N_SPACE AI SPACE N*SPACE SPACE IS SPACE N(SPACE) T SPACE IS SPACE N.SPACE N,space ran space is space n~space sit space is space n-space ion space is space n+space space is space n=SPACE AI SPACE N_SPACE I SPACE N*SPACE SPACE IS SPACE N(SPACE). The root of all evil is the GOD delusion I!!

Yes you are truly a Astrologer who has great insight. Yes we will meet for a cup of tea when the time be so right, but in meantime keep on doing what you are doing that be so on the mark. The true art of magic is in fact no magic, ask Cainer!

Morlokk

[Robert]

Hi Glen - Sure. We are rapidly learning that we're all interconnected, and that a drought in Australia may have important repercussions elsewhere, just as the droughts across North America indicate the same. Just beware of buying the myth of "peak oil," since the companies are using that to game the rest of us into believing that it needs to be more and more expensive. New technologies will soon make oil obsolete, and to be sure, courage, hope, and intelligence will never fail us!

Hi Svetlana - Wow! Thanks for the elaboration on the creation and "creator" of one of the most popular, magical, and globally loved characters in the world. Makes me want to explore the mythos....

Hi Morlokk - Welcome to the site. I shall "keep doing what I'm doing," whatever that seems to be. ;-) As for things like magic and "God," well, those are much bigger subjects than we can go into here, and probably more misunderstood than most realize. That's why there's so much tension around both.

[Svetlana]

Congratulations with Lammas-Harvest holiday!Hope we all are willng to get good crops after good work:)
Blessings!