#101 ·
casualtiger2 said:Jews have been waiting thousands of years for their Messiah.
Christians already had Jesus God, but apparently, that wasn't enough, so they're waiting for his second coming (we've actually had a thread on this for 15 years—Warning before the second coming of Jesus Christ).
Muslims likely expect paradise on Earth the moment everyone converts to Islam.
Hindus are waiting for their avatars (though people don't usually treat those with such apocalyptic urgency).
New Agers are waiting for Maitreya, and Benjamin Creme has been stringing them along for over 40 years (there's even been a thread on this for over a decade—The final phase of Maitreya's public emergence).
Alternative theorists are looking for aliens, Nibiru, or density shifts coming from the direction of Sirius (Ascension is in full swing).
When I first got into TM about 35 years ago, they kept talking about the Age of Enlightenment, which—surprise, surprise—still hasn't arrived.
Scientists, meanwhile, are working on fusion and interplanetary travel—which, compared to everything else mentioned above, is actually grounded in reality, even if it doesn't guarantee we won't accidentally blow ourselves up along the way.
It all boils down to a kind of "youthful" optimism—this deep-seated desire for something massive to happen during our lifetimes.
Personally, instead of all these *deus ex machina* prophecies, I’d much rather see a handful of politicians, religious leaders, and scientists who are actually powerful, smart, and compassionate enough to step up. You know, people capable of reigning in global mega-corporations, curbing nationalism, stopping religious wars, and halting the poisoning of the planet with industrial waste, plastic, and radioactive junk.
As for children, the priority should be preventing the physical, sexual, and psychological abuse that is still far too common.
Educational approaches are already shifting in many developed nations—ranging from the freedom found at Summerhill, to Montessori, Waldorf schools, and even experimental methods like multi-age classrooms and self-directed learning used in places like Sweden or Switzerland—and it has nothing to do with "indigo children," just basic societal needs.
But honestly? As long as industry needs qualified screws, the school system will keep churning them out.
I’ve read about Summerhill; it sounds like a brilliant concept. Now I’m reading "The Last Child in the Woods," which discusses how disconnected children are from nature today... they don't "run wild" the way we used to. I was actually shocked a few days ago when I saw some unprotected blackberries growing in a sort of little park near some apartment buildings; there are definitely kids living there, and yet nobody even thought to pick them. It's crazy.
I used to pick everything, not just in parks or woods, but in people's yards too. I even once snuck into what I thought was the Russian Embassy, getting all mixed up thinking I was in some spy movie. Sometimes I'd go with friends, sometimes alone, but that was my main hobby... climbing trees and stealing fruit. The old ways of playing soldier were a bit out of style by then, so we were more like Billy's sport crew—using an overgrown yew bush as our spaceship. It might have been a hundred years old, I don't know... we called it a "tree," but it didn't look like a typical one; it grew upwards with these incredibly long, spreading branches, one very close to the ground, really flexible... it was our launchpad. You'd grab for a top branch, while jumping slightly on the lower one you were standing on... it was always dark under there, even in the summer, with so many branches for climbing; we hung out there like little monkeys. I even figured out that the berries could be used as soap when I washed my hands in a puddle. I absolutely loved that tree/bush. That's where I used to contemplate whether God existed. In church, they said He did; in the encyclopedia, it said religion was very similar to superstition. So, I had to think it through. It lasted a long time; I had some truly deep thoughts back then, right there...
Back then, things felt completely different. It wasn't just one big Linden tree; I actually found out much later that it was three separate trees all fused together. Climbing it was a real struggle—you almost always needed a hand to get up there—but once you finally hauled yourself to the top, there was this perfect little nook to settle into. You’d just lie there, staring up through the branches at the sky, breathing in that sweet scent and getting lost in thought. Just dreaming, over and over.
A lightning strike took that tree down when I was sixteen. I remember crying my eyes out over it. Once they cleared away the remains of the old trunk, they planted three new saplings right where it used to be. As for the Yew tree, there isn't a trace left, as if it never even existed. That part really confused me at first—why would anyone go through the trouble of cutting it down? But since we all had the internet back then, I did some digging on Google... yew tree... poisonous, incredibly toxic. Even the vapors on hot summer days can act as mild hallucinogens. It's dangerous for kids. Still, none of us ever had any issues; we all knew better than to eat the berries (I knew the pit was the real poison, though I kept that to myself—the berries themselves are actually quite sweet). People would trip here and there, scrape a knee or something, but nothing serious ever happened. Not for decades. People used to tell stories, though. There was this boy who lived across from the park who was missing an eye. His brother had hit him with an air rifle by accident while they were playing. But guns are fine; it's the trees that are dangerous. 🙄