I’ve been a geopolitics buff all my life. And up came an insight last night, to share with you. It’s this…
My adopted Akan granddaughter, Adjoa Kenobi Otoo.
Forget China. Yes, it is taking over from the industrial countries of the Global North but this is because, after its Century of Humiliation, it needs to return to its proper historic status – as the Middle Kingdom.
There are things that Europe and America have failed to do, as a result of our own limitations, materialism and vested interests. China is taking them over, to take them to their conclusion.
We in the West have lost our vision and seek now only to hang on to what we’ve got – and that’s no vision.
Such a transfer happened before, around 1890-1920 when the impetus transferred from Europe to USA. It is now transferring to China and the Far East, but this is temporary. It will last a few decades only, since they too have their limitations and, like us, they’re getting old.
For genuinely new things to arise, young people are needed. In large enough numbers to turn the tide and overcome the resistances of oldsters.
This is what happened in Euro-America in the 1960s, when an enormous cultural change became possible, because of the sheer numbers of young ‘boomers’ – but it was suppressed, and the West ran back to material and military security.
Where are these young people now? Africa.
By the end of this century, Africa will be the place that defines the world’s direction. This will not be about technology and economics. That’s the old stuff, which China is bringing to its proper conclusion. But China is growing old too.
The African future is cultural, ethical and it concerns people. It will address a problem that the West could not solve:
Do people exist to serve the System, or does the System exist to serve people?
It is likely that Africans might be able to bring planet Earth to the state where it becomes a ‘light-space vehicle’, falling into line with what The Nine were alluding to in my recent posting titled ‘Imitating Mountains‘, a few days ago.
We need to take ourselves and our planet in hand. We need to become truly human.
This might just be so, with Africa: it is a glimmer of possibility. However, the future is not written, since we humans are the authors of it, and we’re a capricious and thoughtless lot, as a whole.
“Take me to your Leader.” “Um, no thanks – that’s no solution.” “It’s okay, we know.”
Don’t get caught up in the urgent stream of daily events. Step back and look at what’s happening behind and underneath. Listen more closely to Things than to people. Think less about yourself and yours, and more about all of us, and ours.
Forget World War Three too: don’t buy into the logic of destruction. It will destroy you. Stay tuned to the logic of reconstruction and rebirth. There lies a future.
Last week I was ready rather early for the meditation, so I took down a tatty old copy of The Only Planet of Choice, opening it at a random page, and this is what emerged. This is Tom, the spokesbeing for The Nine.
And, a note: in this piece from the 1990s, the Nine are not talking about this year or next year – they see human history as a wide sweep of time and experience. And we live in historically critical times of global inflection.
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TOM: Now we are moving into the period that begins the solidification and cleansing. In times past souls upon your planet Earth refused to leave it, and through your conflicts they continued to recycle, as you recycle your trees. Your recycled trees have usefulness, but the soul-recycling of humankind does not create usefulness – it creates a bottlenecking of forwardness.
You now have come to a time in which those who make transition [die] – those who do not fulfil what they have come to fulfil, such as those who make transition in accident and in war, or those that create their own transition through suicide, or through a form of devastation by accident or tragedy – those live now in a different realm.
Souls who have now transitioned from war and from accidents and tragedies have now been taken into other, higher evolutionary states for releasing of that anger and despair. Therefore there will not come a recycling of souls of this kind, that have kept planet Earth in bondage, through their hurt. This has come about because of the awakening of humankind to the reality of where it has come to. You are at the beginning of finding your divinity within.
Humankind is now moving forward in increased unification, and in bringing about the ending of conflict and aggression – the world conditions that create the situation of bondage. That does not mean that there is instant change, but change has begun its great movement forward. This is shown by the unification of nations that now understand that the destruction of one nation is in reality the destruction of all others, and the beginning of all destruction: the destruction of vital elements upon your planet Earth affects all. It is a time to be in great joy.
There are times when one would feel despair that there is not forwardness: what is necessary now upon your planet Earth is for each of you to understand that you contain within you that element, that cell, that atom, that molecule, that soul-part of you that is a part of the Creation and the whole. You in your evolution can create the energies necessary, by yourself and with others, to stop further destructiveness.
In times past it was religion which led planet Earth, and religion served its purpose, but now it is you, the peoples of planet Earth, that speak. Be joyful for this and do not feel burdened with it, as some of you seem to do. It is not a perfect time, but it is a time of greatness, and we are in gratefulness to you humans who are positive – for it is necessary for the fulfilment of planet Earth for us to be in partnership with you.
We find great joy for the youth that are coming to Earth in this time, and who have come in the recent past. They are coming with the full understanding that they serve a purpose. Those who came and did not understand their purpose, it is now being revealed to them.
Most people have been upon planet Earth in times past for learning. In this time many people have come to benefit planet Earth in conjunction with us, in service. Many of you come from higher evolutionary levels of other civilisations that work in total peace and harmony with each other. The civilisations have enjoined with all who are bringing planet Earth to its rightful direction.
Each of you humans contains the essence of what you term a star. You have existed in all eternity and will continue to exist in all eternity.
Understand this, and the responsibility that goes with it, but understand it in joy, not with fear or despair. Do not flagellate yourself when you make an error, but move beyond it, and remove and peel off that shell and let another light of yourself come through.
When you are in the presence of others you emanate an energy of light that touches and begins their awakening also. When you create jello [laughter] in the universe, you create great energy and the release of what you term ‘darkness’, and the removal of what sticks in holes in darkness. Each of you humans is like a jellobean. Is there a jellobean?
LARK: Jellybean. TOM: Is it wobbleness? LARK: It’s very sweet too.
TOM: Then people like you are sweet. Yes. Believing that darkness rules you is an escape from responsibility. It is the way it is because humankind created errors.
It is time for humankind to begin to understand who you are. You affect the universe. The days of destruction and of saying ‘that is their problem’ must end, for it is not a responsible way to think.
Bring the beginning of elimination of human accidents that entrap the soul in a non-functional vehicle [disabled or injured]. Do you understand?
JOHN: Could you elaborate on that please? What is it that entraps human beings?
TOM: If there be embattlement [war] and one is entrapped in a body that is injured, then that spirit-soul becomes angry. Then it serves not the purpose it came for. If there be entrapment in the mind through ingestion [of drink or drugs], if it be deliberate or an accident, then that mind cannot fulfil its desired function. Then that energy of despair is like an out-of-beat note. It then needs special love and energy, and to begin the elimination of what causes that. We have confused you now?
JOHN: I think you’re talking about those people who are damaged either at their own hand or for other reasons that are out of their hands. And that those problems must be eliminated so that the soul can live its purpose.
TOM: Yes. And they need help to remove anger. It must be in your meditation that you wish for this. Also include the intention of permitting nations and each group of entity-souls to be allowed to be who they are, without being forced by another nation that would wish to control them. Then will peace really begin to come to your planet Earth, and it will begin to be the paradise for which it was created. Yes.
It is important for humankind to understand its responsibility, and what responsibility is.
Your humankind, in all aspects of its religious life – which has not supplied the understanding – is searching for the elements of its beginning and its purpose, the strength of its connection and who its people truly are, in their being.
We are on a path of upwardness. What now is important is the elimination of involvement with terror and violence, and the non-permitting of them, so that planet Earth may begin to emerge in balance. If you concentrate on the removal of terror [whether by terrorists or by states], then you will also see that the peoples of planet Earth will not tolerate corruption and other means of harming others. In eventuality humanity will become correct. Therefore it is the time of the beginning of this emergence. Yes. Is it not joyful?
Tom is reporting an underlying upward longterm trend. There is something we can do to help, and it relies on us to keep this movement going. We cannot rely on others doing it for us. This is an important time to be alive. Light can be seen at the end of the tunnel. Change is happening in our time. In a few centuries, when looking back at this time, we might well feel honoured to have been a part of it.
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Then, propped up in bed, I did the meditation, or it did me, and all was well.
If you’re wondering what this Sunday Meditation thing is, the times are below and the details are found by click-clacking here: https://www.palden.co.uk/meditations.html
These maps go through an update about every six months – they were first researched and constructed between 2015 and 2022. They’ve just gone through another update.
You won’t notice much of a visible difference, because they’re also a database of information about each ancient site and alignment – and it is mostly these details that get updated. I have also done some weeding of a few alignments that are less plausible. Just click on any symbol or line, and info about it will pop up – including links to other useful sites, map references and more details.
The positioning of all ancient sites on the map is pretty exact, so you can use it to find them in the field. With a few carefully thought-through exceptions, all alignments are accurate to within just 3 metres or 10ft.
However, when you’re out visiting and ‘bothering’ sites, please consider this. Geomantic energies and mobile-phone signals are not compatible – it’s like playing heavy metal music loudly, next to a tinkling stream. So if you approach ancient sites with your phone switched on, you’re not only desensitising yourself, but also you are tampering with the energy-fields of the site you’re visiting. Just because what we call ‘earth energies’ cannot currently be detected by scientific instruments, it does not mean that this will always be the case. So pls to do not contribute to the contamination of the subtle energy-fields of ancient sites – whether or not you believe what I’m talking about. Thank you!
And do enjoy using the maps. They’re for you – if you’re mad on Cornwall.
Early in 2020 I wrote this prognosis, about the 2020s and subsequent decades…
The 2020s. Here we see a social turning-point brought on by weaknesses in the economic system, and by environmental and social pressures. It will be a decade of people, crowds and society, where human principles rise and profitability considerations decline as primary determinants of events (Pluto moves into Aquarius for 16 years in 2024).
The big issue will be people and social control, migration, social movements, progressives versus resisters, and a battle of ideas. The broad consequences of inequality, globally and domestically, will be critical.
Behind this a new mindset will grow that is both idealistic and pragmatic, local and global, driven particularly by younger people – in much of the world the majority generation. Ideas that once were left-wing become pragmatic.
The 2020s will see waves of crisis emerging, of which Covid and its wider cascading effects was the first. By 2025-29 this is likely to reach what seem at the time like avalanche proportions, forcing increasing unpremeditated systems change.
Astrologically, it’s a triangle, Uranus sextile Neptune sextile Pluto, from Gemini to Aries to Aquarius, all about ideas, communication, innovation, principles, multiplicity, pluralism, throngs of people – and the data and surveillance powers of digital corporations, governments and background operators.
It will be a challenging, struggly and also exciting time, with a full panoply of global issues coming at us – feeling at times like an overload. A time of creativity, change, emergence and acceleration. Busy, noisy, a happening time. Astrologically, the time of Elizabeth I and Akbar the Great provide an historic precedent, another being the decade leading up to the American and French revolutions.
How this plays out depends on the world’s responses – resisting or adapting to change. Both will be the case, but which of these predominates will be a critical issue. Amidst this, a florescence of ideas, solutions, innovations and discoveries is likely. The Millennial generation will be taking power – a big issue in the developing world, which will increasingly determine the world agenda.
China will be counterbalanced by alliances of mid-sized powers and continental blocs (Africa, Latin America, SE Asia, Middle East, India, etc) and a geopolitically confusing period is likely.
There is a risk for conflict and other hazards (‘mad dictators’, tech breakdowns, social chaos, mass migration, economic pressures, climatic events, environmental criticals), but there is an equal risk of positive breakthroughs (enlightened leaders or social movements, social breakthroughs, new ideas, reorientation of resources, etc) – and we could see both.
It’s an eruption of a new landscape, a new realism. The momentum of change will accelerate, though this will likely lead to several decades of insecurity, complexity, shifting socio-economic patterns, disruption and systems problems, with positive changes emerging rapidly too, crisis-pushed.
The world is in such a parlous state, and we’ve seen so much mindless devastation and tragedy recently.
Below is a chapter extracted from my 2012 book Pictures of Palestine. It’s about the amazing creative contributions that some people make, with a view to re-heartening downhearted people.
This might not be a thought for you now, but it might become relevant in perhaps a few years’ time. The agenda here is to help people rebuild, once the horrors have stopped. There are plenty of countries to choose from.
It can be done for (say) two months each year. If you’re in your 20s or 30s, or approaching retirement, it’s a chance to do something really meaningful. This extracted chapter will give a taste of it.
Arriving back in Bethlehem from Ramallah, I went to Adnan’s shop to sit down. But then something else happened: music started playing down in Manger Square. It turned out to be a Palestinian Christian marching band playing, to my surprise, Scots bagpipes and drums. The shutter on my camera was busy for a while.
This was a throwback to the days of the British Mandate. The band, clothed in smart uniforms with red berets, marched around Manger Square, then up Al-Najmah Street into the Old Town. It was rousing music, yet coloured with a wry sense of historic tragedy, a hint of wishful thinking of former days. It faded into the distance, there was a pause and then they came back down again, with gaggles of people in tow and others hanging out of the windows watching. The band marched around the square again and then stopped. People hung around, chatting and the atmosphere on the square was sociable and upbeat.
Then something else started up: the unmistakeable sound of ragtime jazz, coming closer down Al-Najmah Street. As I went down to see, seven Austrian musicians appeared, dressed in comical clothing and followed by a happy crowd of kids and adults, all now entering the square. Everything and everyone perked up and people flooded into the square from all directions. Eventually hundreds were gathered, young and old. The jazz band stood in a semi-circle, striking funny poses, eyeballing people as they played, taking turns to do solos, and people gathered around, taken with the witty ragtime music. It was good music, skilfully played.
Bravo to them. The group had come to Palestine to entertain, and they were succeeding spectacularly. Their crazy humour connected well with Bethlehemites, everyone smiling and chuckling. Christian monks in their habits hung around, chatting with the remnants of the marching band; boys on bikes weaved around them, and families, old ladies, kids and sundry foreigners all were drawn in by the happy din.
My eyes were becoming moist – the scene was so poignant. Here was an imprisoned people chattering, laughing, hanging out. This musical intervention is real aid and development, providing an ignition-spark to raise people’s spirits, give youngsters ideas, remind oldsters of happier times and simply to exorcise all current gloom. Bethlehem broke out into a smile and tapped its feet while the trombone, clarinet, cornet, trumpet and drums blasted out jazztime ditties and the Austrians sweated in their funny costumes.
A number of private initiatives like this do happen in Palestine – people come here bringing spirited cultural and human input. They bravely contribute what they’re good at to a remarkably grateful and responsive audience. Carrying a trombone through security checks can’t be the easiest thing to explain to a sceptical Israeli officer.
I heard of a project by a Dutch rock band, half of them working in Israel, half in Palestine. They held drumming workshops on both sides to train people up for the main event. They got loads of people drumming on anything they could find, all ages joining the training. Then one day everyone trooped upstairs through the buildings on each side of the separation wall on to the flat rooftops, where they played together for hours, across the concrete curtain of the security wall. Apparently it was quite a gig.
Some years ago a German installation artist came to Palestine, mobilising people to assemble junk, wrecks and bits of old metal, of which there is plenty. Then he set to welding them into massive statues outside various Palestinian towns. After completing one junk-sculpture, he would move to another town, leaving a series of sculptures which are mostly still there.
There was also a woman from Switzerland, whom I helped to get fixed up, carrying out her own aid initiative. She taught the European Computer Driving Licence, a certificate course in computer and software use. Her aim was to teach five Palestinians whom she would then set loose to teach others, and she would return later to supervise developments. She had discovered the Hope Flowers Centre in Deheisheh as a place to help facilitate this process – they had a newly kitted-out computer room funded by a European charitable trust.
I talked her through a few facts of the game, and she was receptive. This was a good sign: many Westerners have difficulty encompassing the differences between Palestine and the West. I told her that the basic efficiency standards we take for granted in the West were unlikely to work here – people turning up on time and things happening as planned. She wouldn’t achieve her teaching task in just a few days, as she first had anticipated. I advised her to give it a few weeks, and she’d probably need to do more supervision and follow-up than intended, but her students would be intelligent and motivated. She would also make many friends and might even fall in love with the place – these are the truly human spin-offs that can arise. She got the message and I think it rather excited her.
This kind of thing can be problematic though. As Hope Flowers’ webmaster, people e-mail me with offers of help, but they don’t necessarily understand the realities involved. There’s an expectation that Palestinians will jump to attention and accommodate their generosity, and it’s not quite like that.
One lady from New York City wished to teach cartoon-drawing to the children, to help them deal with their trauma by externalising their life-stories in cartoon format. A very good idea! Except that she wanted to have everything lined up so that she could do it in just one day. This was just not doable: it’s not possible to move everything around to accommodate the urgent timetables of a visiting Westerner. People wouldn’t be convinced of the value of cartooning until they tried it. To succeed in her mission, she would have to adapt to the situation, give it time and take things as they come. I had to decline her offer and regretted that.
A charity in California wanted to send vitamin pills for the school kids, another wonderful idea. Usually they sent them to Africa or to disaster areas, so they didn’t quite understand the unique political circumstances here: the Israelis would not allow such a consignment through. The charity could not believe this – after all, Israel is an ally of USA, isn’t it? Well, that makes no difference.
There’s an extra twist to this. It’s not just a question of straight, oppressive restrictions. If the charity gave the school money to buy the vitamins from abroad, then the business would go through an Israeli importer who would profit from the transaction and, eventually, inshallah, the vitamins would probably get through. The fact that this was an aid donation made it different, since Israeli policy firmly has it that there is no humanitarian problem in the West Bank, so no aid is needed. The charity got upset with us because they thought we were being ungrateful and obstructive.
Such ungratefulness also happened with a charity seeking to send Christmas gifts. Theoretically a good idea, except that Muslims don’t do Christmas. A consignment of gifts was sent but Israeli customs got hold of them, so Ibrahim worked hard to release the gifts. Eventually they arrived long after Christmas, with most gifts removed and distributed to poor Orthodox Jewish families, whose parents don’t work for a living.
Disappointingly, only the boxes and a few leftover gifts were allowed through. Ibrahim told the charity not to send more gifts the following year but they couldn’t believe that the Israelis would block such a donation. Surely corrupt Palestinians had embezzled the gifts instead?
There’s another issue here: cultural sensitivity. Palestinian children don’t need Santa socks. As for cake with brandy in, books with Bible stories or plastic toys that break on day two, forget it. So, the thought is nice, but it’s necessary to find out what’s actually needed or to send some money, or to come over to visit and find out what will work and why. We might ask for art materials or photocopier spare parts, or even money to cover the accountants’ and auditors’ services that Western organisations often require, to prove that we’re not embezzling funds. Westerners’ generosity is sincere but it doesn’t always have the intended effect and the hassles incurred can be immense. Or the aid that is sent mainly benefits educated, well-connected Palestinians who need it less than the underprivileged. Complications that are encountered can cause charities and well-wishers to withhold support, which in turn increases Palestinians’ feelings of abandonment.
The street-level aid and support ventures that individual people think up and carry out are heart-warming, imaginative and, at times, genuinely helpful – often in different ways than first conceived. Healers, artists and all sorts of people come here, and the locals appreciate it. Fancy taking an initiative yourself? Someone might fix you a piano, a room or a crowd of people. If not, something else will happen. But it’s probably best to make a reconnaissance trip first, to find out what reality looks like in Palestine.
Acceptance is quite difficult for Westerners. We tend to want life to go the way we want it to go – and it doesn’t. Life has its own agendas and game-plan.
This becomes very apparent in late life, or when we contract debilitating, life-threatening illnesses like cancer, or when we acquire disabilities. Especially when we face death, over which we have little or no control. Death makes its own decisions.
But in the 2020s, a bigger agenda is taking over, and we have many unknowns and normality-disruptions ahead. Our grip on reality is loosening, and even billionaires and other sundry titans cannot buy themselves out of it.
It’s all about acceptance. Reality-street. That’s what this is all about.
Notes from the Far Beyond 
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