“Every few hundred years in western history there occurs a sharp transformation. Within a few short decades, society – its worldview, its basic values, its social and political structures, its arts, its key institutions – rearranges itself… We are currently living through such a time.” – Peter Drucker
Some say it began in December 2010, when street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in the streets of the rural town of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, in protest of government policies. This led to street protests throughout Tunisia that same month, and by the next month, Zine El Abidine Ali, the longtime president of Tunisia, resigned and fled the country.
Thus began the Arab spring, which over the next few months spread like wildfire throughout the Middle East; the movement moved to Europe in the summer, and came to the United States in the fall of 2011, where it manifested as the Occupy Wall Street movement.
But it didn’t start in Tunisia in December 2010, or in the U.S. in the fall of 2011. The roots of this movement have been simmering for quite some time.
In 1966, when Buffalo Springfield sang, “There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear,” they touched on something vital to the spirit of the 1960’s. There was something going on—the beginning of a cultural, political, spiritual and holistic revolution—but in that tumultuous era, it was hard to put a finger exactly on the pulse of what it was and where it was going.
But now we know where it is going. There’s something happening here, and what it is is exactly clear. It is the Quantum Revolution.
There’s been a quiet revolution going on for quite a few years now, in many realms and sectors, from health care, to politics, arts, the environment, technology, and more. At present the tide is turning, and if these movements are steered correctly, this could be one of the greatest social and cultural transformations in history, with the potential to create a peaceful, sustainable, just and compassionate society and world for a long time.
Over the course of the coming years, this Quantum Revolution is going to get louder, until the forces of change beckon it to become a tidal wave. This revolution will encompass change from the bottom up and top down, and from the inside out and outside in. This has the power to transform the world.
A Quantum Revolution signifies the awakening of the awesome power of heart and mind, for the betterment of the world. An awakened heart and mind allows people to vision more deeply and profoundly, a vision of what it takes to create a more peaceful, enlightened and sustainable world, and then right action can help bring it to fruition.
To find a way to a more positive world will take wisdom and more evolved ways of seeing. Our problems cannot be solved from the level of thinking that created them. That way of thinking is limited, and the answers cannot be found that way. The Quantum Revolution will be both a revolution and an evolution—of thinking, of being, and of doing, in which we become wiser, more conscious and more aware.
There have been many revolutions throughout the course of history; some have succeeded while others have failed. But if it is just a political transformation, it is not enough. It has to be a transformation of consciousness, and a transformation of systems, in which people begin thinking and doing with greater clarity, greater awareness, greater love, and with a connection to the pulse of the universe, in order to move things along for the greater good.
A Quantum Revolution will create a world of peace; a world with a sane health care system that focuses on healing and wellness; a world of sustainable living; a world that focuses on the greater good; a world where people help one another without thinking, what’s in it for me; a world that measures economic growth by the happiness quotient of a nation’s citizens; a world where people live to their fullest potential; a world where people can overcome their fears and take bold action; and a world of forward-thinking visionaries.
This kind of world has been the collective dream of individuals and society for millennia. But now we have it within our grasp to make this dream real. The Quantum Revolution will occur as more people move in this direction. Many of us are trying to change the world, in ways big and small. It may be personal change that you are working on, it may be societal change, or it may be a combination of the two.
It starts now. You have it in your power to do something and move things forward. In each of us is a seed that is hungry to be sparked. It is the desire for meaning, to live a life that has profound value not only to you but also to others. This hunger cannot be quenched: it needs to be watered, fed, nurtured, cultivated, and finally allowed to blossom.