What if our enlightenment has to do with light?

Over the past year I have heard numerous contemporary spiritual teachers, such as Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, and Marianne Williamson, predict a profound shift in consciousness accompanied with an evolution to the next stage of humanity.

Where? When? How? I wanted to know. Could it be the fervor of an election year and promise of change? Could it be related to the intriguing prophecies of 2012 which predict a major transformation?

But then, like Goldilocks, something felt “just right” when I read Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation (August issue of Ode) What if our enlightenment has to do with light?

Until now, I primarily saw the advantages of renewable energy from an environmental perspective and hoped that it would lead to a more peaceful future if we do not have to battle for resources. But if by decentralizing energy we decentralize power, as this article suggests, imagine the implications it has on our society and world as a whole. In the article Jeremy Rifkin, alternative energy activist, claims that remaking the power grid, “represents a paradigm shift so complete that it will also change human consciousness and social relations.”

Could this breakdown of centralized, hierarchical structures, pave the way for successful models of sustainable communities and interdependence? I can’t wait to find out!