You know you are getting older when instead of being the one reading New Year’s predictions you get obsessed with making them. Either it’s all the repatterning work I have done (clearing up that brow chakra energy to “see” the future) or I am just getting older. Regardless, during the last year or two, a few things I have read, observed or experienced have been ruminating for a post which you may find radical or delusional. My predictions have been fueled by many things including the hype around the Mayan Calendar ending and related reactions, participating at Google + and following the posts and writings of social media marketing folks like +Chris Brogan, +David Meerman Scott or + Mitch Joel as well as a report that I first read in someone’s post and then at the source from the Brookings Institute on the state of world poverty.
The Mayan Calendar Deal – So yes the Mayan calendar (some humor here if you missed it) has run out out. I agree that the world as many have known it will indeed come to an end this year or soon after as the true Y2K disaster merely delayed by 12 years unfolds. It has to do with the internet, the digital age and systems that have yet to convert to it. Look around you – The paper form of most institutions have left us and we are now more efficiently getting our news, our TV Guide, our music, our banking, or shopping online. The institutions that housed the old form are shrinking, collapsing or re-inventing. If you are in an industry that has yet to re-invent for the digital age you may find a Mayan calendar prediction for collapse in store this year. Depends on what it is.
Less Crime – Here in Canada, our premier is building more prisons. We really don’t know why because there is currently a downward trend in crime that is not stopping. My prediction – crime continues to go down. WHY? The internet. The internet makes it more difficult to be a criminal and the weakest minds are being taken over by computer games as they are more fun and less dangerous. There are now more computers available for more people at every income level.
Less Poverty – Last year I read a Brookings Institute post (an agency that analyzes policy) that reported on the UN millenium goal for the reduction of poverty by 2015. The goal was met early 2 years ago!!!!!!!!! I ask myself why was that not front page news? The answer is found in the current economic climate for the more well to do countries including Canada where the world’s wealthiest are now having to do with less money, less security, less affluence. But on the other hand, countries with people who have lived a vastly marginal life, never knowing affluence are now experiencing a bit more. Sure there is a very long way to go, but unlike the past millenniums or Mayan calendar, the UN prediction is that wealth is being equalized around the planet and in this century we are headed towards a world that is largely middle class. Those losing income may attribute it to the end of the Mayan calendar or will find new abundance in what they truly value.
The Emergence of Honest Politicians – I applaud anyone who takes on the job of service as an elected official. Their life is not their own and they are always under a spotlight. In the past it was possible for a politician to say one thing to one group and quite another message to other voter niches or gatherings because of the delay in getting out messages via paper print – double speak would be buried in the timeline. There was also a social etiquette that prevented personal mis-steps from making the news. But now all of life is transparent, you could say courtesy of Facebook or Twitter. It is really just the digital age and the internet demanding that we share everything, share it now, share it in real time. Nothing is sacred. A politician can no longer just look good publicly. More and more they actually have to be the person they present. The US presidential election will be an a contest of authenticity. That is my bravest prediction!
The Average IQ increases – I blame this one on Google. I truly believe the internet is making all of us smarter and staying alert longer. The fact that anything and I mean anything that raises your curiosity can and is searched for on Google and other engines is an amazing new affliction that I think leads to more informed and intelligent human beings. No matter where you go, what the conversation or circumstance, inevitably someone is searching an aspect of a topic online to get the information known in that moment. Our IQ increases because we are more informed and becoming addicted to being informed and we have the tools to do it.
Creativity Explodes Everywhere – The passing of Steve Jobs caused the world to pause and ponder his contribution and realize that he left a way of thinking and a set of tools to imagine life differently. He inspires living life outside of the box (and more like inside an apple lol) . Beyond his legacy, again the internet and the digital information age has put new tools into the hands of everyone at every income level, in every industry or domain that help us create things we could not imagine doing a decade ago. For myself I have a digital sewing machine for quilting and have accumulated more inventory and creative projects than will fill the next 3 years of spare time. The tools available for quilters alone makes creativity unbounded. I am thinking about projects all the time.
We Become Renaissance Thinkers for the Information Age – I first came across this idea in Steven Macintosh’s book Integral Consciousness. During the renaissance the printing press together with new ideas and concepts flooded the world of the educated elite and defined all of the information we know today in basic institutions such as law, business, politics, education etc. However it was fewer than 1000 people world-wide that took the time to think through the information and new tools and create the bodies of knowledge that we have today. Some say our current information/digital age puts us at a similar point in history that parallels the renaissance – we have many many new tools and ways of looking at the world are exploding everywhere. Old ideas for physics, biology, medicine, science are giving way to new theories with technology supporting the exploration. However, unlike the previous renaissance integrating this information and creating new world perspectives and ways of living, are now open to all of us with a simple internet connection. We have the chance in every aspect of life to be a leader instead of a follower and be equally recognized for our contribution. Like the shooting stars of American Idol, or Britain’s Got Talent, everyone has the opportunity to step onto the world stage like Susan Boyle. Everyone can plug into an original idea and put it on a digital channel for the grid of humanity to receive.
The Urgency of Living Authentically in the Present Moment – This year personal development takes on new heights of spirituality as being present moment oriented takes on more urgency and is a pre-requisite for successful living – especially online. The ready access to information forces us to live in real time. You see it on the news and how stories are unfolded. We rarely say “take a few days to think about that…” more and more we want answers in the moment. If we wait – an opportunity may be lost. In watching business in particular, I have noticed that the successful ones, are those who are responding in real time, with people leading the helm who are present moment oriented. They are authentic, have integrity, and exude honesty in their posture. Wiggle room for lies or lack of information is shrinking. There is no room to respond in the moment from a place of non-coherence, unresolved patterns or chaos. This year will be a challenge for those who live behind a mask covering their true identity and have not done the work that brings wisdom, understanding, authenticity and integrity into thier way of being.
Living with Purpose and Meaning – Our notched up present moment awareness will inevitably (if they haven’t already) push our buttons for purpose and meaning. The age old questions of “Who am I? What do I value? What is my purpose? What am I doing with my life? How will I be remembered? or simply making sense of the events of our life will come into focus more than ever. If we are responding to life’s events in the present moment we don’t have time to naval gaze. We want to be confident that who we are and what we do makes a difference and has meaning in every nano second that goes by.
Masters of the Present Moment – In past generations it took a lifetime for any individual to evolve their consciousness to any extent. In fact increased consciousness usually took a few generations to change and expand a family and individuals world view. That has changed in the last few decades with a self-help industry that made it possible for everyone to look within to make dramatic life changes. In 2012 we’ll experience the importance of cultivating our inner hardware and becoming masters of the present moment.
Are you ready for 2012?
with love and light
Carolyn
carolynwinter.org 