Radical Pessimism Plus Utopian Action Plan
In my new book, 2012 Revisited, I try to face our situation honestly.
To do this, I had to reconsider many of the esoteric ideas I wrote about in 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl (2006) These included ideas from Terence McKenna, Jose Arguelles, Graham Hancock, and so on. Back then, I fully acknowledged the threat of ecological catastrophe. Yet I hoped humanity would rally to embrace indigenous design principles. I thought we would see a global movement to prevent the worst outcomes and launch an antidote to hyper-consumerism.
I held out hopes for the tech community — a younger echelon of wealth holders who made their fortunes connecting the world via virtual networks. Some of them explore their consciousness through ayahuasca and so on. I thought they might use their genius to re-organize society around a regenerative model. Instead, most of them embraced the Singularity ideology of Ray Kurzweil, along with self-serving Libertarian or Neoliberal political views.
When I wrote 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, I was already concerned about the evangelical desire to accelerate Apocalypse. Now things are far worse. It turns out a huge contingent of self-righteous maniacs believe that Trump was sent by God to accelerate the "end of the world." As Newsweek reports, "Evangelical Christians overwhelmingly support President Donald Trump because they believe he'll cause the world to end." That is a tough position to reason with.
I still hold out faint hopes for a psychic transmutation that might change the world in some fundamental, quantum-leap kind of a way. For the documentary 2012: Time for Change, we interviewed visionaries like the late Barbara Marx Hubbard who promoted "conscious evolution" and psychic researcher Dean Radin, who instigated the Global Consciousness Project at Princeton University. However in 2012 Revisited, I also take seriously the counter-proposal of Julius Evola, who thought we are simply descending deeper into Kali Yuga, the dark age ending with total destruction. He sees this as an inevitable cylical process which all authentic esoteric traditions recognized. There will be a "Golden Age" again — but outside of historical time as we currently experience it. Evola is a complex figure who has been picked up by the Far Right, but that doesn't make him wrong.
In my new book, I consider what happens to us if we think human extinction is possible, or even probable, soon. Once past the stages of bargaining and despair, it can be strangely liberating. It still leaves us with the question of how to use our time and resources now. Tenderness, gentleness, and love are probably great ideas. Also, perhaps the over-arching menace can inspire us to seek "enlightenment" or "realization" or "liberation," as the esoteric traditions define it, in an accelerated and disciplined way. That seems worth a shot in any case. Given the severity of the situation, we may as well explore the mystery of consciousness and existence to its ultimate depths.
Of course I am still on board to be part of any legitimate, last-minute effort to "save the world." I have many plans, theories, and strategies ready for marshaling a counter-movement to transform our current system and salvage our planet from the destructive forces of imperialism, Capitalism, neo-Fascism, Fundamentalism, etcetera. My 2017 book, How Soon Is Now, put together an action plan. The Regenerative Societies Wiki offers a systemic approach.
Here is one example of a potentially world-saving idea: As Newsweek notes: "Jerusalem has a central role as the city of prophecy and the place where the end of times plays out. According to the prophecy, a 1,000-year period of peace must be followed by seven years of tribulation, during which wars, disease, and natural disasters will lay waste to the earth. In the book of Revelation, Israel is described as a nation that exists during the time of tribulation, and Jerusalem's Jewish temple is resurrected during this period. The last temple was destroyed around 70 A.D, and today there is a mosque on the Temple Mount where the previous two temples are believed to have stood. Evangelicals believe that a unified Israel with control over Jerusalem will facilitate the construction of a new Jewish temple, and set the groundwork for the end of times." We could satisfy the prophecies and rebuild the Temple on the Mount in a peaceful way, by projecting a hologram of the Temple of Solomon on the current mosque, rather than having violent conflict around it.
Perhaps I will propose some other ideas in future newsletters, in case anyone is listening.
|
