WARNING: This post may offend some people. Continue reading at your own risk.

Our planet is in crisis. Humans are destroying the Earth’s ecosystem, killing each other, perpetuating inequality, harming themselves, and rapidly consuming all of our natural resources. What in the hell are we going to do about it?

Destroying Earth

Earth is about to reach her Critical Mass. What does this mean? NASA recently released a study that if humans continue at our current population growth and consumption of resources, that we will obliterate all life on Earth within 15 years. FIFTEEN YEARS. If you have children, that’s barely enough time to see them complete school. If you are over 18, you won’t make it to 40. If you are a baby boomer, you won’t meet your great grandchildren. Let that sink in.

Economic expansion is one of the major factors listed as to why our civilization is destroying itself. Giant multinational corporations and their limitless and ruthless campaign for profit has turned our global economy into a gluttonous swine that will only stop eating when every single dollar, Euro, and Yen has been consumed. Then what? What happens when we have no more money, the ruling elite possess all economic power, our forests are all but destroyed, all beneficial animals are extinct, and our drinking water and air is polluted to the point that it is unusable? Well then we start dying by the masses. Yes, it is scary, but oh so true if we do not face the truth of our actions.

Violence Between Humans

This doesn’t even address the issue of violence. Humans are still killing each other! Why is this happening? The world experiences close to half a million intentional homicides every year (source), not to mention the close to 72,000 deaths worldwide that have occurred just this year from international armed conflicts (source). Some may say that this cuts down on population growth, and to that I say violence is never justified. Harming another, taking another’s life, is the crudest act one can take.

Inequality

What about inequality? Yes, this still exists. Since about the mid 1970’s, adjusted household income for the lower 4 quintiles of the population has significantly dropped, while the top quintile has only risen (source). We already know that the top 1% of the population globally holds close to 35% (depending on your source) of the world’s wealth, while the top 8% holds close to 80% of the total wealth (source). What story does this tell? That poverty is a result of economic expansion, and we are only making the rich richer. It is also proven that increased poverty leads to increased crime rates, no matter where you are in the world (source). The cycle must stop.

Self-Destruction

Let’s talk about suicide and depression for a minute as well. Suicide reaches 40,000 Americans every year and is our 10th leading cause of death (ahead of homicide at 16th). When you consider that 80% of people who seek treatment for depression, and depression is by far the leading cause of suicide (source), then the solution seems simple: start offering free help to those who need it! Self-doubt, self-judgment, and self-hate are all symptoms of depression that can be remedied through treatment, self-reflection, and support from loved ones.

Consumption of Natural Resources

Even if we stop destroying the Earth, we still have to consider the use of natural resources. The prices of metal, rubber, and energy have increased by 176%, 350%, and 260% respectively since 2000 (source). Why are we doing this to ourselves? We have a limitless supply of sustainable energy sources, that, if utilized, could save $3.7 trillion per year globally. Solar power, wind turbines, hydroelectricity, wave power, and geothermal energy all harness essentially limitless resources that are just waiting to be used. We need to stop sucking the Earth dry, and do it today.

Is There a Solution?

Well that was depressing just writing about it. If you feel sad after reading the information above, please keep reading! It gets better, I promise 🙂

To answer the question: YES! There is a solution. To negate reaching the Critical Mass of Earth’s population, to end world violence, to abolish inequality, to stop personal suffering, and to prevent the consumption of all our natural resources, all we have to do is Stop, Reflect, Reset, Refocus, Rebuild, and then Relax. This sounds cryptic, so let’s explore each of these steps to see what exactly I’m talking about and how each person can do their part to bring about a more peaceful and equal world.

STOP

That’s right. Stop what you are doing right now. Quit stressing out. Quit talking down to yourself. Quit that job you hate. Stop judging others. Don’t like what I’m saying to you? Then stop reading. Whatever it is that is bringing you down, whatever is sucking your energy, making you depressed, and making you scream to the Heavens wishing for something else; just STOP IT! We all need to quit torturing ourselves and realize that this life was meant to be lived. It is time to stop suffering and begin our personal reflection.

Reflect

Hopefully you feel slightly better now. You have realized that you need to stop putting yourself through unnecessary pain. Now what? If we take some time to take an objective look at our lives and reflect on the person we want to be and the life we want to live, then we begin to see what is holding us back from reaching our goals. Is the weight of the world crushing you down, making you feel like a slave? Are you playing the victim? When you are honest with yourself and see that the only reason you aren’t where you want to be is due to the choices you have made, you become empowered. There is no reason to judge yourself for not accomplishing what you have set out to do. Chances are, you have been very distracted by the world and its problems. But now, as you begin to examine your life, you see that although the world’s problems weigh heavily on your heart, they are not your problems. When you can see that your own problems are only inside your head, and that you have limitless potential and all of eternity to learn from and correct your mistakes, you will be on the path to inner peace.

Reset

Now is the time to start over. Don’t wait for tomorrow. Each day we begin life anew, as if we were creating our reality from scratch (because we are). So, forget your transgressions, forget how you have hurt others, forget how you have let yourself down, forget about all that you ever wanted, and press reset. Reset your life and start at square 1. Drop your baggage and get ready to build your new home inside your heart. The past is exactly that: the past. It does not control us or define us, it can only teach us. If you have reflected on your mistakes and done your best to learn from them, then the past has done its part and no longer needs to be used. It’s time to start creating new memories and a new reality for ourselves and the whole world.

Refocus

You are a brand new human being. You haven’t been sent back to relive your experiences. Rather, you now know everything you have ever learned, but you have a clean slate. It’s time to start asking yourself the most important questions in life! What excites you most? What makes you want to get up early in the morning and stay up into the wee hours of the night? What do you crave beyond all else? These are the fundamental building blocks that will lead you to your life’s purpose. I can’t tell you what that may be, but I can help you get there. WRITE THIS SHIT DOWN! Make a list of all the things you want to do, the places you want to visit, and what sort of work you see yourself doing. Literally nothing is off limits. You can achieve whatever you wish, but you must begin to visualize it, and this starts with writing it down to be reminded of it constantly.

Rebuild

Now you have a clean slate and a clear vision to go along with it. What’s stopping you?! The answer is NOTHING! The path to realizing your goals may not be entirely clear, but you have to start somewhere, and the time to do it is now. So, pick out the very first baby steps of your voyage into the vastness of your ideal life, and get to building it! Again, I cannot tell you what those first steps are, but they could be as simple as a phone call to a friend, applying to the college you have been putting off, or starting that art project you’ve had in your head for years now. Whatever it is, spend at least 15 minutes today doing it and you will start to see results.

Relax

Realize that this change in your life will take time. You will not reach your ideal life instantly. So the only thing you can do is RELAX! Enjoy what you do have now, and take solace in the fact that the Universe is conspiring to give you what you want and exactly what you need to get there. Be grateful. Let go of the things you cannot change. Start to love yourself unconditionally. See others as a reflection of yourself and the love for all beings on Earth will grow within you. Your friends and loved ones will see this new you and be inspired. You will be spreading the love and sharing the inner most depths of your heart without saying a thing. Let everything take its course and accept that everything that is meant to happen will at the exact time is was supposed to. Your journey will be peaceful and joyful. Enjoy the ride.

Reaching Critical Mass

I titled this post Reaching Critical Mass for two reasons: the Earth is at the brink of destruction, and the Earth is at the brink of the next stage of human evolution. These sound like opposing ideas, because they are. In the first few paragraphs, I talked about the major issues our world faces. There are many others, obviously, but to me, these are the ones that are most crucial if we are to avoid destroying ourselves and the planet we live on. The problem is, we as individuals can do nothing to prevent this destruction by ourselves. One person cannot change the world all by themselves. This is why we must reach the Critical Mass of a different scale. Our mass consciousness, the human mind, is connected throughout all space and time. Even if we don’t want to accept it, we are all psychically interacting every moment of every day. We feel each other’s pain, just as we feel each other’s joy. That is why a smile from a random stranger on the street can change our whole day. Most of us, however, are unaware of this fact, and think that all the thoughts entering our mind are our own.

When you take the time to Stop, Reflect, Reset, Refocus, Rebuild, and Relax, the truth of this becomes clear to you and you begin to see your place in the world. You realize that your thoughts hold vast amounts of power, and you will be inspired to become a more positive influence on yourself and all those around you. The more each of us aspires to think positive thoughts, love ourselves and others, and accept that which we cannot change, the closer we reach the Critical Mass of the mind, rather than of matter. We have let the material world take control over us and our lives. The goal of this post is to take that control back. Let’s expand our consciousness together, and bring the lost minds and souls of the world into the fold of expanding love and joy.

I propose an idea to each and every one of you reading this post: begin a practice of meditation. Meditation, simply put, is the process of stopping all that you are doing, reflecting momentarily and objectively on your life, resetting your mind with a clean slate, refocusing onto the positive influences in your life, rebuilding the ideal life for yourself, and taking a few moments to relax. I recommend you practice this meditation in solitude; away from others and away from all distractions. Music may help to ease your mind, but make sure it is peaceful and simple. Sit comfortably, so that you may meditate as long as is necessary to come to full relaxation. This may take many attempts, but trust me, it will be worth it. You will come to see yourself as part of the vastness of the whole Universe, and that your role is just as important as anyone else’s. This will be a beautiful awakening for your mind and your soul.

A great start to this meditation practice could be, if you feel so inclined, to join a global synchronized meditation that will be taking place on September 21st, 2014 at 12pm PST. You can find out more information here and register for the event! This will be a guided meditation by some of the world’s most renowned spiritual leaders, and is meant for all people who are interested to join (no experience necessary). I highly encourage you to check this out for yourself. This will be one of the major steps that humanity takes towards world peace, equality, and unity for all. I for one, will be there, and I hope after reading that you will be too! Much love to all. Namaste.