Meditation on the World Crisis

Meditation on the World Crisis

by Richard C. Cook

October 11, 2013

Humanity is in the midst of a cosmic transformation. We are in the End Times. Simultaneously we are experiencing the gestation of the New Earth. Established structures are using modern technology to erect the most pervasive web of totalitarian control in history. Yet this technology is also facilitating the creation of the global village where spiritually awakening souls can find each other instantaneously.

As of this writing, 7,183,840,474 human beings have convened on the planet to witness and participate in the great change, a number that increases by 215,000 daily. The amount of resources and level of effort needed to keep such a number alive and functioning is staggering. In many locations the system of extraction and production has faltered. The gulf between the haves and have-nots seems to be growing. The number of people falling through the cracks can be seen through statistics on growing poverty, malnutrition, competition for food and water, even human slavery and genocide. The suffering is exacerbated by the breakdown of traditional religions and their ability to invoke what may seem to be outmoded systems of beliefs to address unprecedented opportunities and problems. The incredible power of technology also tempts elites, institutions, and nations to use it to exploit their fellow humans for wealth, power, and ego-gratification.

What is going on here, and will spiritual awakening lead humanity to enlightenment before the forces of darkness destroy it? We have to admit that we don’t know. Optimists believe it will; pessimists that it won’t. Neither can prove themselves right. But each of the 7.1 billion clearly has a choice of which way to lean: on the side of altruism and service or that of selfishness and greed. Of course many others postpone the choice and simply go along to get along, losing themselves in the many available distractions along the way.

How long can the present rising tensions continue until something finally has to give? How many people are too many? How much demand on resources is too much? How many small-scale wars can be fought until a big one breaks out? How many earthquakes, tsunami, hurricanes and cyclones can there be before the Earth, Sun, comets, asteroids, and comet dust clouds erupt with such force as to create global havoc?

Something has to give. It can’t go on this way forever. Science has breached the barriers to infinity at both the levels of quantum physics and trans-galactic astronomy. Yet science cannot predict the future of the planet or its inhabitants. It cannot say if Armageddon or a Golden Age lie ahead or both. It cannot predict new discoveries of consciousness or new economic crises. All it can forecast is the constancy of change.

So what can individuals do in the face of such uncertainty? The one thing we know for certain is that the animal body that each of us inhabits while living on this planet will sooner or later perish. Death at the individual level is the constant that awaits each and every one. So beyond the minimum required to keep the body alive and reasonably healthy, what else should we strive for? Why not strive for what really makes us happy at the deepest emotional and spiritual levels, for what really and truly brings a sigh of relaxation and smiles to our faces? Why not strive to know, help, and love ourselves and one another as best we can each and every day of our lives?

Richard C. Cook is a former federal analyst who now teaches meditation at the Lifestream Center in Roanoke, VA, USA. His latest book is “Return of the Aeons: The Planetary Spiritual Ascension.” His websites are www.richardccook.com and www.meditatehealascend.org.