My morning consisted of coffee and crafting a comment (below), on this article, "Humanity Is Transforming And Changing: The Great Awakening" about human evolution and well, "awakening". The writer observes we are moving forward, and made reference to global warming, corporations, etc. The article wasn't half bad. I've read much much worse - sometimes drivel is so ridiculously inane you wonder that people read it. In fact it worries me that people read crap and then just buy in.

But like I said, this article wasn't all bad, if a bit jargon heavy. Here is an excerpt:

It’s almost April 2013 and the planet is going through a mass transformation. There are many aspects to this transformation, and in the end one must come to realize the basic building block for global change starts with us, humanity on a collective level, together. We are being called to evolve past our current way of living, tap into our infinite potentiality, let go of our training wheels and fly. We continue to search for external factors like technology and alternative ways to function, which is great. But humanity cannot evolve past its current paradigm unless the souls on Earth themselves change first. From that place of change we can begin to implement new ways of operating on this planet which can propel us past our current limitations and into an existence of abundance, peace , prosperity, and discovery. Humanity must operate from a place of love, peace, cooperation, acceptance and understanding if it is to move on and expand past the current limitations and definitions it has placed upon itself. A portion of the paradigm change we are witnessing on planet Earth today is people waking up to what has really been taking place. This can be a tough process because many humans have been made to believe certain realities are true when they are not. Through the use of mainstream media, education and more, we have been programmed with false ideas and belief systems of how the world and the industries that govern it work. We’ve also been programmed with the idea of how to be, how to act, and what to do in certain situations. This type of programming has taken us away from our soul’s voice, our heart, and our ability to be our true self. We are a young race, and we are only just discovering our hearts now.

Not bad actually. It gets a bit "airy" but he/she makes a few good points: People are paying attention. Programming happens. The soul is different from the heart and the self. I like "We are a young race."

Unfortunately, she/he doesn't back up the good points and then goes a bit off the rails to blaming.

To my mind blaming corporations, the government, and even human nature is besides the point and it really is a huge part of the problem. (By the problem, I mean challenges to evolution.) We need to understand all of these components to be sure. But making arguments that can't be backed up, along with lazy consumption of info and general lack of intellectual rigor keep us from moving forward. Flabby thinking and inferior leaders will lead us into the pits of hell.

I just went back and read the ending to the article, something about "all we have to do is follow our hearts" and I'm feeling nauseous now. Ug. Ok, ok, the ending was bad.

Here's why: "Follow your heart" is good advice for many situations. It doesn't exactly fend off global warming. It also doesn't make other things "better", like parenting. Bad parenting comes from a lack of good tools, effective methods and strong role models. There are times you have to follow your heart as a parent, but it's crap for advice, because when the toddler is having a melt down in the grocery store, you really can't always hear your heart. Especially if you are a bit off your game.

• New thought: human evolution depends on good tools, effective methods and strong role models. 

So "follow your heart" is exactly what I hated in the Human Awakening article. But still, the author made other good points. Paul posted a practical comment, something like "only a small number of people are paying attention". Here were my thoughts:

goodtrouble [that's me]

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

April 13, 2013 at 11:25 am

Paul – I agree completely. It’s nice words. But I’m a pragmatist. We are barely waking up, and there has always *always* been a contingent of humans who are “waking up” aka, discovering stuff before the rest. Love does indeed rule the spiritual “universe” but Action, which come from ideas and their dissemination, rule the physical world. I’m all about the overlap, and I know that Peace begins at home, but really, “one world” if it ever happens is WAY off (like in the distance/future).

I think recent research into the way people behave as individuals and in groups when faced with an actual disaster (ship literally going down) gives us the most insight into what to expect from people generally when faced with facts of a building global environmental crisis. Most people, in a disaster, freeze. It’s hard wired. Some – a few – in contrast, react with “I’m going to survive” and they often make it. Or they die trying. People who are trained for survival develop a mind set. It’s like really good defensive drivers taking it to the next level. (Read The Survivor’s Club if you want details: http://www.amazon.com/Survivors-Club-Secrets-Science-Could/dp/B004TE6O2G/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365864803&sr=1-1&keywords=the+survivor%27s+club)

What else do we know? Humans don’t believe “it” can happen to them (hence the deer in headlights first reaction) and therefore don’t plan ahead. This is true if we are talking about rape, poverty, and complete demise of an economic system or global environmental disaster. (For more proof, See: completely inadequate lack of retirement planning for our collective futures)

Finally, there is research lately that shows when confronted with info that contradicts our beliefs, we tend to become more entrenched in our (often erroneous) beliefs. (http://youarenotsosmart.com/). (The remedy to this, I believe, is rigorous dedication to truly examining new information when it comes in, even if it blows all your pet theories out of the water. This is why scientists are f-cking cool. And could save our frail human asses. But then, as the author points out, they tried to burn Galileo at the stake. Copernicus was the one who first said the earth wasn’t flat, if I remember correctly, and he came well before.)

I do question some assumptions and assertions in this article, such as :

“They are owned by a handful of multinational corporations who we all know are in control of government and governmental policy, such as Time Warner, Disney, Viacom, News Corporation, CBS Corporation, and NBC Universal. What is even more strange is that all of these corporations have connections to each other. Multiple CEO’s and employees are members of the Council On Foreign Relations and all of these organizations always lead up to the same group of families, like the Rockefellers.”

 I’m pretty sure that 1. the government isn’t capable of grand conspiracies – they are too large and generally inefficient to pull it off. 2. Corporations don’t run our government. Hello? Can anyone believe that [corporations run our government] statement after the last US presidential election? I don’t disagree that corporations have too much power, that capitalism has huge flaws and that we have allowed people to hide behind the Corporate Curtain (ala Wizard of Oz) but that is not the same thing. 3. Corporations all have connections to each other because that is what groups do. It’s sensible and effective and self-preserving. Whatever – it’s what we are (ad hoc) doing right this minute. Connecting. So what. 4. CEOs are always members of various councils. Yes, some are from old money. Again, big deal. Doesn’t prove a damn thing. In fact, let’s consider “new money” and if there is more influence, across the planet, from those in the Middle East with more money than they can spend. Rest assured they love to invest in the American greenback. So I said all that to say this: It. is. time. for us to get off our armchair quarterbacking butts with all the intellectual flabbiness of a nearly uneducated generation, attack our sense of entitlement* and consider how we can make real change happen. It STARTS with actually making sound arguments and cases for our beliefs. It ENDS with _doing_ something different. Like what? Like making a point to really, truly respectfully listen to the “other side” aka all those who don’t get what the hell is going on. If you treat them like morons, they will act like morons. If you treat them like people, even including the CEOs! then they may have an interest in what you are saying.

I really hope this comment section let’s me go on this long. Paul, thank you for getting me started. I needed to coagulate these thoughts.
Namaste. Be a warrior.

*the idea that we are either doomed and so will sit asana or that someone else will fix the problem

Bottom line is I wouldn't have commented if I hadn't thought there was enough intellectual prowess (in the author and the readers) to work with in the first place.

Reading all this and commenting also makes me bow at the feet of composition teachers everywhere.

[Please forgive the crappy formatting in my post. I have too much to do to dig into the html to fix it. Yes, I'm being technilogically lazy ass.]