Are You Ready For Revolution?

“One cannot resist an idea whose time has come.”
Victor Hugo

Sitting here in Australia near the beautiful beach of Byron Bay I’ve been amazed to see how quickly the revolutionary sentiment of Egypt, Libya and other countries has spread to Spain and other European countries.

At a recent protest rally a young man held a sign that said “Nobody Expects the Spanish Revolution”. But could we have seen this coming?  How far could it spread? and What should/can we do about it?

I think the answer to the first question is YES!

If we look to nature we can see that systems like to stay in balance. This doesn’t mean that everything is lovely and benign but that one force often opposes an equal and opposite force. If a system swings out of balance it may go quite some way before reaching what is called the Tipping Point – the point at which a system is displaced from a state of equilibrium into a different state.

Systems often cope with some pretty severe shocks before righting themselves and resuming along the original path as if nothing has happened. But if the tipping point is reached it may only take a very small incident to provoke major change.

When I wrote ‘The Self Mastery Toolbox’ a couple of years ago I proposed that there were 5 lies that would trigger the revolution. These were/are:-

1.    That rampant materialism provides for lasting happiness.

2.    That the Earth is an infinite resource.

3.    That we as human beings hold a privileged position above all the other creatures on Earth.

4.    That we, as human beings, are separate from each other.

5.    That there is only one God/answer/pathway to heaven and enlightenment.

One could write a book about these lies - as many have - but just a couple of points to note.

We’ve learnt nothing from the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 – in many cases the Government (read ‘we’) have bailed out mega rich corporations and the individuals who run them based on the idea that “They are too big to fail”.

Spanish revolution is triggered in part by 21% unemployment. Rising food prices squeezed more pain into Egypt. Greeks are upset by austerity measures demanded after European Union financial bailouts...

“The rich get richer, the poor get the picture”
Midnight Oil

Unequal distribution of wealth is causing inter-generational and intra-generational tensions. That means between people of different ages and people of the same ages in different countries – see lies #1 and #4 above.

Lie #2 – can I just say BP Oil Spill, the failure of Copenhagen, the focus on growth as a way out of debt for major economies...

The point is – the lies are still in the system and they will continue to provoke instability.

So – back to opposing forces – here’s my hypothesis. Terrorism as a force was/is opposed by military might – primarily US but also supported by allies such as the UK, Australia, and NATO. Because of terrorism and the threats made – we have accepted/relinquished some of our civil liberties and because of the FEAR have bought into the notion that we NEED a strong government/leaders/military to protect us.

The collapse of dictatorships in Egypt, Libya and other Muslim countries shifts the balance away from equilibrium. The result is that as Muslims have rallied against autocratic dictators who have pillaged the resources of their countries and concentrated the wealth in the hands of a few sycophantic cronies – the focus has shifted in countries such as Spain.

Suddenly Spanish people want to know why Governments let bankers and financiers go wild with cheap money. The French protestors want ‘Real democracy now!’

The revolution that is occurring in ‘western’ countries is against the overwhelming and unfair gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. In most cases this is an inter-generational conflict between baby boomers and the generations that followed. For instance in the UK In 2004, the UK baby boomers held 80% of the UK's wealth and bought 80% of all top of the range cars, 80% of cruises and 50% of skincare products. (Walker, Duncan (Sept 16, 2004) "Live Fast, Die Old", BBC News site. Retrieved 2007-01-26.)

My belief is that this revolution will spread to all developed countries.

So, what can we do about it?

1.    Become a Neo-capitalist!
(read the article ‘How to change the world by being a Neocapitalist’ )
- Recognise that every interaction that you have with the system either supports of violates the lies – make sure you’re not supporting them.

2.    Gain mastery over the self so you don’t buy into fear and greed!
- the big challenge facing us as a species can be boiled down to fear and greed versus love and compassion. Big corporations and the mega marketing arms they employ try at all times to make you afraid that you will miss out or be passed over – and that what you haven’t isn’t enough.
- mastery over the self is about determining what you want, how you want to live in terms of what is most important in your life (read ‘Values’) and how you are going to get it. See the Self Mastery online program and/or pay someone to help you/coach you.
- the challenge of the Spiritual Warrior is the ultimate battle between the self and the self (read fear and greed versus love and compassion) – this is the battle of our times.

Above all, remember now is not the time to wait, to sit back and watch because

“We are the ones we have been waiting for”
Hopi Indian Elders