It is hard sometimes not to feel barraged by all the negative news: China/Tibet/The Olympics, divisiveness in the Democratic Party; the sheer disconnectedness, violence and stupidity of Generation Apocalypse (the follow-up to the already young, dumb and full of cum Generation Y) embodied in teen girls beating eachother to a pulp on film, the continued violence in Iraq, growing nationalism in Europe, and so on…

If you flip to the History Channel (previously the “Hitler Channel,” currently the “Apocalypse Channel”) you’re confronted with ancient prophecies of end times, as if to scare us into believing it is all inevitable. And then of course, people like the Pope and certain religion-obsessed politicians seem to enjoy making incendiary comments about those of other faiths because they want to bring on their so-called Rapture.

This is all become increasingly anxiety inducing. I literally hear ‘water cooler’ stories of people plagued by panic attacks in the middle of the night…and it’s no wonder.

Instead of following the doomsayers, I prefer to cling to the belief that all of this is happening for a reason. We are in the midst of a revolution, and revolutions and grand-scale changes are often messy on arrival. Scientists speak of extreme weather shifts from the Earth’s long stable state (see my interview with pioneer environmental scientist James Lovelock currently on Kyoto Planet’s web site). Another handful talk of a potential polar shift.

And following the hermetic principle, all the changes that seem to be going on outside of us are also going on inside of us on an individual level (’as above, so below’). So, I say, take to the helm and be in charge of beautiful, positive revolutions…not by chasing an Olympic torch around the globe in hopes of snuffing it out…but by making the necessary changes….inside.

A passage from the i Ching (as interpreted by Brian Walker) comes to mind. It is for the hexagram known as Ko, or Revolution:

“The hexagram Ko announces the arrival of a time of revolution. A set of conditions, internal or external or both, is ready to pass away in favor of a more beneficial situation. What enables this transformation is your conscious and vigorous adherence to correct thought and behavior.

No revolution in outer things is possible without a prior revolution in one’s inner way of being. Whatever change you aspire to in your affairs must be preceded by a change in heart, an active deepening and strengthening of your resolve to meet every event with equanimity, detachment, and innocent goodwill. When this spiritual poise is achieved within, magnificent things are possible without.

The revolutions of others are enabled also when we refine the fire of goodness and truth inside ourselves. Sincere commitment to higher things travels outward in powerful waves from the superior person, and all those around are affected by this. Indisputably, to lead one’s inner self to truth and peace is to lead the outer world to truth and peace. A beneficial revolution is assured to one who takes this path now.”

I leave you with these perfect instructions for this juncture in the turbulent “00″ decade. I will be traveling in the next week or to so I will not be blogging. I will be taking some time to “unplug,” which in this era takes on a quite literal DSL-inspired meaning. I encourage you (even in stationary stance) to do the same, if just for a weekend.

Posted by Shana Ting Lipton