Consciousness Shift

Hey, all:

How do we wake up, individually and collectively? Luck and opportunity are said to favor the prepared mind. So how do we "prepare"? Is Education, Openness, Revelation, or Unhappiness the key? Or, do we have to "hit bottom"--like addicts--before we can realize we must change to survive?

There are more tobacco smokers in China than the entire population of the USA. It is estimated 20,000 humans die everyday, in abject poverty, around the world. A third of the world's human population lives on the equivalent of US$2.00 per day. It is predicted by many biologists that 90% of the world's species will become extinct in the next 100 years. Climatologists predict the complete Summer loss of the Arctic icepack in 50 years or less. Approximately 1% of the world's human population controls ~98% of the world's wealth. Tropical rain forest is cleared--often to raise cattle for exported hamburgers, or for palm oil for agrofuels--tropical rainforests are cleared at the approximate rate of the equivalent of a football/soccer/rugby field every minute. There are probably 10,000,000 species of plant, animal, microbe on the planet, the great balance of which are unknown to humans, many of which are lost forever in clearing rainforests. Melting glaciers, ice packs, reduced snowfall and snowpack will raise sea levels, rendering vast areas of land uninhabitable for a vast number of species, including, coincidentally, hundreds of millions of humans. The gap between the richest and the poorest of humans continues to grow.

So, are these facts enough to perform the role of the chicken or the egg? Do they contribute to preparation or perhaps a lucky moment?

What is needed?--individually, but more importantly, collectively?

David
Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!

Hey, all:

Yes, JP, the types or conditions I mentioned can be viewed as symptoms, and they may not be even be comprehensive. I also agree that shifts do require some initial awareness of being "out of synch". What I am interesting in exploring is how we can cause--or help cause others--those not the in the "choir" or even in the "church"--to wake up from those conditions and begin to shift their own consciousness--i.e., what step comes first--the chicken or the egg?

I tell anyone who asks that I live by producing a relatively small ecological footprint in my electrical energy production. I also use very little energy for water heat, and even most of my water comes from rain. But those are only the ones who ask, and they are preconditioned to do so, by proximity, interest, or familiarity, or other factor. Many, many others do not ask and have no interest at all. It is this second group that needs to be reached. But what is the trigger? What needs to happen to get them to express interest or concern? Events like prices for things like gasoline going up affect people in inverse relation to their incomes, so these things are inherently unfair and loaded against lower income groups. Appeals based on morality seems to fall on deaf ears for the vast majority of listeners.

We are here because we have at least made some shifts already--how did those shifts come about? How do we interpret and transfer those shifts to others? Even if we take Gandhi's advice and "be the change" others have to have some vision or sensitivity to witness our behavior and recognize its value. So, again, how do we wake up, individually and collectively?

David
Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!

Hey, all:

Hey, JP: I am glad we agree on so much--now let's let others participate and share their thoughts.

David
Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!

Related to JP and David's discussion below, I would think the group would be open to considering collective changes in consiousness as well as individual approaches, but this is open for discussion. Feel free to share your opinion on the matter. I think both are essential, but do understand that we can't force a shift in mentality.

Critical thinking, careful observation and reflection have caused me to question ways in which our society carries out daily life which produces various levels of harm. This causes me to live in a more responsible way which values simplicity and strives to achieve balance. I believe that we need to feel connected to nature for our mental sanity. We are natural beings and seeing this in context allows us to appreciate the world around us in a more intimate way; this is my experience... personal wilderness experiences, along with mentors who value connections with our environment helped shape these thoughts.

As for our society & the challenges ahead, I agree with JP that fear is a serious force in peoples' lives when considering change. If one benefits from a current system, why should they choose another approach? Maybe people need to understand how much power they have in creating the world around them... I can imagine powerlessness creating apathy and weakening strength to say no to harmful sources in society. Also, my definition of what is harmful will likely contradict anothers' definition. These are challenges we face as a whole.

Disconnect seems the obvious problem. How do we solve it in light of our modern society?