Apocalypse is derived from a Greek word meaning “uncovering” or “take the cover off.” It is not, as many interpret it, “complete and utter annihilation of all things man made.”
Apocalypse evokes images of expending everything you have in order to survive a violent and destructive event. Then having nothing left but to cling to the scraps remaining from a civilization which met its near instantaneous demise from an unexpected catastrophic event. In an endless sea of rubble, violent tribalism emerges, a grim new reality takes root where the survivors continue to play out the battle civilization waged upon itself since time began. At least, that’s how they depict it in the movies, isn’t it?
That’s not how I see it. When I look around at civilization as a whole, I don’t see imminent destruction of all things good. I don’t see destruction of all things good ever happening, actually. I see smart people making good decisions. I see Good triumphing over evil, time and time again. I see tyrants who made smart moves and rode gray lines, who danced around to get power, only to get plowed under when they reveal and express their tyranny clearly. I see Truth rising to the surface and humanity as a whole uncovering delusion in order to secure peace time and time again.
I don’t see the fall of civilization and tribalism taking root in the ashes of our annihilation. I don’t see the fall of anything meaningful at all. I do see the apocalypse coming, and I do aim to do my part to bring it forth. Apocalypse meaning the end of humanity’s collective delusion.
I have seen many go through their own personal apocalypse, I have gone through mine. It can go one of two ways for you. When you meet and are faced with reality you can either embrace it, or you can scream and run the other way, aiming never to collide with it again. Those who embrace it are utterly transformed in every way. Their entire lives go through a change, mine did. Every relationship I had changed, fell away. Everything I thought I knew about myself fell away and a new, deeper Truth took root.
It wasn’t that I changed really, I’m still exactly the same as I’ve always been. It’s that my reality transformed from one based upon a carefully constructed web of deceit given to me by those around me, to one where I derive my identity directly from my Creator, a life of Joy. Some people aren’t ready to go through that, they aren’t willing to face reality and heal. The apocalypse is everyone’s last real chance to make a change, Judgment Day.
In my mind, you don’t have to wait to make a change, you can do it right now. All you have to do is decide to live from a place where your soul is the foundation of how you direct your life, rather than how society dictates. After the apocalypse, I believe society will be based upon the soul, rather than ego. Right now, society rewards ego at the expense of your soul. Eventually, I believe that will no longer happen because it is an unproductive, painful, fruitless endeavor that leads to endless problems for everyone. Nobody actually feels good about it. People as a whole generally move away from it.
The apocalypse I see is not material, but spiritual, social, and psychological in nature. There may be a great deal of material upheaval, but not the kind of pummel-to-rubble annihilation that our “end of the world” stories depict.
As a spiritual person, all my life I’ve been deeply concerned about morality, justice, righteousness. Right and wrong, doing the right thing, being on the right side of a matter. I learned to stand up for what is right, no matter the cost, and I learned to follow the love in my own heart to guide me to Truth. I learned humility, discipline, honoring the wisdom and God in others. I have heard stories about the End Times all my life and I have ever since been seeking resolution for this matter in my own mind. I think, each in our own way, everyone is.
I have looked out upon civilization and I have reviewed its history and watched both how it has and has not changed. I have watched its macro systems and micro systems across many industries, cultures, nations, subcultures, and groups. I have watched individuals and their histories, even exploring deeply into the past lives of individuals and seeing how their choices have affected their spiritual journeys thousands of years later into today. I have made my own reasonable assessment while including the assessments of many individuals and groups throughout time and space, and here is my conclusion.
The apocalypse is upon us, it’s happening right now. It’s been happening all along. It is not the material destruction of all humanity has built. It is not the end of its lineage of wisdom and progress. It is, in fact, not the end of anything good or meaningful. It is the breaking free from the tyranny of outdated, useless, fear-based thought systems and social structures. For some, this will mean cataclysmic transformation, while others, I believe, will hardly notice any change at all for they are already living in total alignment with their own inner Truth.
