TED Conversations

Harvey Austin

This conversation has closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »

Has the Tide Turned?

At this unprecedented fork in history, a time where our species has developed sufficient technology either to destroy itself or sufficient spirit to consciously evolve itself as a new humanity.... there are those who feel that the 'tide has already turned.’

This metaphor is taken from these words from Lynn Twist, "In a way, one way of looking at this is like the tide that turns in the ocean. When the tide turns in the ocean it turns way down deep where no one can see. And then it takes some time before it rises to the surface and then you see the tides turning. And I think the tide has turned. And we're just beginning to see it and feel it on the surface of life as we know it. “

Related Talks:
+3
Share:
progress indicator

  • Elaine Salantra

    • 0
    Jan 17 2012: To Collen Steen...

    Thank you so much for rating my comment with "Thumbs Up"

  • Elaine Salantra

    • 0
    Jan 9 2012: To Natasha Nikulina...

    Thank you for comment of "thumbs up" regarding my respond post on the subject: Has the tide turned?
    In gratitude.

  • Elaine Salantra

    • +2
    Jan 8 2012: I feel the vibrational frequency of a tide that has already turned. Whether we are in the ocean's tide or the cosmic tide, there is interconnection.. And the frequency of this interconnection can be felt by those individuals who are sensitive to its ever-quickening momentum. The key is to feel this momentum and trust what you feel. With the turning of the tide and the merging of 2012, the key words are Power to consciously create and the Action to implement it. Are we ready?
  • thumb

    Thadeus Frei

    • +2
    Jan 8 2012: I think it's true that all human affairs begin with subtle paradigm shifts while the current ethos still progresses under it's own inertia. But these are constant, it is an aggregation of technology and it's notions. You are insinuating some thing monstrous though which I do not foresee with our own accord. It will however be dictated by our own means. Our path has been unsustainable for quite some time and it is this that will give us no choice but to make this monumental change. Notwithstanding this it is only at the brink of collapse that we make our collective amends.

    *deleted post was a double, sorry.

  • Connie Livingston-Dunn

    • +2
    Jan 7 2012: The tide courses through our bodies and influences our very essence. We are each responsible for the tide rising for the benefit of the Uni-verse and all sentient beings and it begins with me. We are all one and we have a very profound response-ability. We can choose to live in love or fear, I choose love. Thanks, Harvey, for posting.

  • freed schmitter

    • 0
    Jan 7 2012: Yes, the tide has turned, and I suppose - I suggest - in a most positive way. The 'Occupy' movement did reveal that an overwhelming majority wants change. 99% then can work together to create the world they imagine. Of the remaining 1%, the better half might even be ready to help. First and allmost, war has to be a thing of the past, it benefits just a few, the rest looses terribly. Then suddenly, money is free to build.
    I imagine to build a new Palestine, exactly on the doorsteps of a planned atrocity. A remarkable blueprint called 'the Arc' is designed by American urban architects Suisman. Get inspired at www.newpalestine.org

  • opeyemi parham

    • +1
    Jan 6 2012: It seems that we are all swimming in the same big ocean, but at different depths. Those of us who have "gone deep" will feel that turning of the tide sooner than those of us who have lived life on the surface.

    Edward, it is true that a turning tide can sometimes indicate a tsunami, but in this case it feels as if the tide has turned in the direction of recognizing the imperative of Do or Die that has come with this turning. And the "Do" is to love one another. Or die to our higher, spiritual selves.

  • Ellen Tolliver

    • 0
    Jan 6 2012: I am not clear that the Human Phenomenon as we know it has or will change, or that the circumstances in which we live will make adjustments as a product of our times.

    I do believe however that we have fallen from an upward momentum to a downward spiral due to greed, power mongers, and religious fundamentalists and/or Zealots.

    The good news, which may be bad for some, is that a critical mass is beginning to stand up and be counted.

    And at the same time, It is interesting to see that many of the organized religious groups are producing mass advertising campaigns to bring their flocks back under their control. How awful it must be to lose such power.

    Ah so, then perhaps the tide has changed. Human beings are looking at their circumstances and evolving. But is t his conscious evolution, or just an unwillingness to endure?

  • Harvey Austin

    • 0
    Jan 6 2012: Thank you, Edward. Yes, the question is based on an assumption that the world is shifting for the better, that humanity is beginning to have birth pains which will result in the birth of a more cohesive, compassionate and connected humanity.

    At this most-critical-fork-humanity-has-ever-experienced, we have evolved unconsciously to be the first species that has the technological capability to destroy both itself and its environment.

    But there is a tide of conscious spiritual uprising showing up as group cohesiveness, stronger individual spirituality and a sense of solidarity as a species. I like the metaphor that we, each 'walking-around cell,' are now looking to form an organ, our next stage of evolution. The evidence is right under our noses if we look , media, politics and global corporate institutions not withstanding.

    From my viewpoint, we are in the early birth-stage - semi-consciously evolving from a You OR Me world to a You AND me world. Further, I contend that we are capable of CONSCIOUSLY EVOLVING ourselves to our cosmic potential.
  • thumb

    edward long 30+

    • 0
    Jan 5 2012: Sorry, Harvey, it is not clear to me from reading your question if the tide turning is assumed to be a good thing. Does the metaphor allow for it to be a bad thing?If it is only a sign of improvement then I say it has not turned. (See a current similar TED question about "things getting better and better"). If your turning tide can represent global social and material deterioration, then I say it has turned. Thanks for a provocative, and relevant question.
  • thumb

    Colleen Steen 200+

    • +1
    Jan 5 2012: Harvey...good topic:>)
    I absolutely believe the tide is turning, and an important part of that process is the communication systems we now have...like TED. Sometimes, it feels lonely having an idea worth spreading when we cannot adequately share it, and it feels encouraging to have the technology, which now facilitates conversations/connections with so many like minded people:>) I'm excited!!!
  • thumb

    natasha nikulina 30+

    • +2
    TED Translator
    Jan 5 2012: Harvey !
    Thank you for asking and for the beautiful metaphor ! Earlier I came up with the scientific concept of phase transition. Like any deep crisis , it is precisely the moment when the entire system is on the verge, it takes but the tiniest flicker of energy to push the system into collapse or transcendence. Here, when we are talking about the destiny of humanity, the tide in the ocean is more accurate description, stretched in time and I can easier relate to it.
    "Has the Tide Turned ?" Yes, I believe so . We are changing, we are evolving. I do not accept the New Age guarantee that the universe will look after us, what we do as individuals matters, really matters, we are the Tide !
  • thumb

    Janet Smith Warfield

    • +2
    Jan 4 2012: The tide has turned. Can you feel it? Will you struggle to turn it back or allow its life-giving waters to fill the thirsting rivers of your soul?

  • Michael M 30+

    • +2
    Jan 4 2012: Maybe. We will see.
    That is the best I can come up with.
Showing all 15 comments