Sunday, December 26, 2010

This Year is Almost Over

I could talk about the 7 plus earthquake in Vanatu but I have nothing to add to the story. Lots of big quakes the last couple of years. I know I spelled Vanatu wrong.

The last few years have been complete insanity for me. The next one looks to be a lot simpler. Yet, we shall see. At a minimum it will be different. I wish for everyone that 2011 will be a better year; but, I am afraid that for most it will not be.

2011 is the year when the pensions, 401ks and social security will all be exposed for the true depth of the problems. Our currency will likely be greatly devalued and there is the very real possibility that the federal reserve will be fundamentally undermined. On the housing front, expect houses to lose even more value.

I expect little help for the unemployed, I expect a structural change in unemployment benefits. Europe will see more protests and riots. Expect large protests at the royal weddings.

Next month I a moving. At a minimum I will not be in this house. Life does indeed throw curves. I have four years left before I retire. Sometimes I forget how old I am.

We used to live in caves and our best tools were stones. Today most people are afraid of losing their internet connection and being unable to play online games. Historically people wanted to know more and be better, to advance as people. Today people want to rest as much as possible and find growth and learning an annoyance. Something is wrong.

I have noticed some trends that you might find interesting. Do a search on the words "spiritual awakening". If you did it in quotes you will get 15,000,000 hits on Yahoo. That is a fair amount. Then I want you to watch some of the videos or read the articles. Why are so many people convinced that we are going to have a consciousness expanding awakening and what do they believe we (the average person) will come to "understand".

I am not proposing that any such "awakening" will occur. I am asking why so many people think it is coming and what they think it will be and mean. Too often we look at things from the lens of whether or not we believe it instead of asking why anyone believes it.

Consider the popularity of the book that Oprah pushed called "The Secret". The secret was that you can have anything you want by using the "law of attraction". Basically witchcraft. You ask the universe for what you want, focus all of your attention on the object and prepare yourself to accept the result.

I want to talk about the occult "sciences" for a moment. All occult sciences eventually come down to the same thing. If you perform certain acts in the proper manner than you can control others. The Kabuki dance if you will. Occult does not mean that the people believe in Satan and many don't. Why do so many people believe in these types of practices? Look at the explosion in the number of wiccans, why is this occurring and why is it occurring now.

What had traditionally been seen as occult has crept into everyday life and is barely noticed. "Visualization" is now taught as a business practice. Try and find a newspaper that does not have a horoscope section. Consider the rise of Yoga and Transcendental Meditation. Every town I pass through has "Psychics". It didn't use to be so common.

So what is going on? What do these people believe they are getting or avoiding? Why is superstition increasing in an increasingly technical world. My belief is that as the world gets more complex, people seek occultism in the belief that it gives them some sense of control over their lives. If I am correct than occultism will increase even more in the coming years.

Look at television, the movies and books. The hottest trends are with witches, werewolves and of course vampires. I don't even watch television or movies except very rarely and I know that it is a trend. I hear people talking about it all the time.

In Haiti voodoo practitioners are being killed by a population that believes they are to blame for all the troubles that have befallen that country. I don't really care if people believe they can do magic. Not my issue. People who believe they have magical powers don't bother learning how to change things using reality. Superstitious populations are more easily controlled.

Here is an article from "Natural News" that attempts to prove that science has proven astrology to be true. Now I want to return to discuss the "awakening".

What do these people think we will be awakened to? Some say that we will become aware of aliens in the universe, some believe there will be a tremendous spiritual awakening where we discover we are all one and the same. Many attribute this change to the year 2012.

Whatever you believe, how do we get people to focus on making things better by acting better? There are millions of people who focus more on their virtual lives than they do on the very real world around them. People create avatars to represent themselves and live as elves, warlocks, witches, ninjas and such. They then spend most of their days casting spells and doing magic. If you are not familiar with "World of Warcraft" or "Final Fantasy".

If we are going to fix our industries we need to focus on learning our jobs and skills that will help. No amount of voodoo, hoodoo or magic is going to do it for us. Well, I hope you can see what is going on around you. Be well.