So i have been thinking about this 2012 conscious shift idea. I kinda look at it in a way that all of us as the collective species, is one giant tree, or plant. And our tree/plant is coming to its stage of growth were the flower will be blooming, and the bloom will be beautiful.

I feel like the description of the apocalypse in revalations fits in pretty well with our modern day setting, moving on to a higher state of being is how I view ascension. The recent global awareness of eastern thought and the power of psychedelics could lead to this, however there are forces working from the other side too. This is clearly a turning point for humanity, one where we as a species are going to have to make some serious choices. It could lead to global enlightenment, but I feel some pretty heavy change is going to have to happen pretty fast if we want that. Otherwise we're fucked.

I think these changes have already been happening, and at a fairly fast rate.

Yes I certainly hope so.. with all the crazy oppressive things happening in america right now there is bound to be a change for the better.. things always move in cycles. Destruction>creation and so on to put it simply.. there was the patriot act (allows gov to spy and citizens through wiretapping and other means without our consent), suspension of habeous corpus (gov can now detain anyone indefinitely without charge nor trial), and now there is SOPA on the line (internet censorship, our biggest source of unfiltered information).

Frankly all of this is making me sick.. but the saying is correct, it is darkest before dawn. This shift in consciouness is needed and will happen right when it is suppose to.. can't wait til this all starts over.. I was a little punker teenager when I said it the first time, but now I can say it for real. Eff the government!

Well clearly a new age isn't going to emerge spontaniously, there has to be some lead up and that's been happening for sure over the last century or so. But there is still a power structure that's been building and refining itself over the past few thousand years that works against us, and it's a pretty fucking powerful structure. Again I'll say that the recent globalization of information sharing makes me optimistic. People are no longer stuck with the ideas that they're subjected to in their closed societies. They are more easily able to find alternative resources out there, take those ideas into account, and create their own, more personal way of looking at things that works best for them.

Clearly greed fueled capitalism is main oppressive force, at least where I'm at (US). perhaps we should organize some sort of money boycott.

This is very true, but i think when it comes down to it all, The structure, that these power hungry people have, is no match against nature, I mean looked at japan, i think if nature feels as if something is wrong, then it will be checked real quick, for sure all the loss is very tragic, but how many times has destruction been brought to Florida, and we are forced but to do nothing but rebuild. These higher governmental people better get there stuff straight, or nature is going to check them quick.

This is what i think at least.

All I'm saying is that if the prophecy is true and 2012 is the beginning of a new age, it's just that - a beginning. You can't expect spontaneous global change and we've still got quite a ways to go before I'd consider humanity to be at the stage that people like you and me would like it to be in.

Also, oppression has been happening constantly for as long as there has been civilization. People create it faster than nature can suppress it.

I agree... Even the most powerful conspiracies in the world can only throw wrenches... Nature always decides the outcome.

The thing with evolution is that a species doesn't evolve if it's too comfortable (sharks are a great example- perfectly adapted for tens of millions of years). The big jumps in evolution happen at moments of crisis- sudden climate change, shift in food supply, etc.

...and we are creating for ourselves the ultimate make-or-break crisis.

Nature tends to succeed- as evidenced by our biosphere's multibillion year history... So odds are, we will pass this big test. But there's also a real chance of failure. Both the Mayan calendar and the flow of current events seem to point at things coming to a head this year- but let's not be too shocked if 2013 arrives and we're all still here, taking inventory of the year and looking for signs of The Big Shift.

Yes i agree ^^

And yes when 2013 does arrive and we are still here, because when we think that nothing has happened and nothing is; that is when it will hit us, when we are completely off guard.