Sliding Doors

I don't know if you've been following the work of Clif High and his Web Bot Project at halfpasthuman.com.  I've been reading the output since 2002, and I have found them to be rather prescient, though not always as advertised.

One of the major events that have shown up repeatedly over the past several years is something Clif calls the Data Gap.  In the past year, he has narrowed the timing for this event down to this spring, with the leading edge showing up around next week or so.

In a nutshell, the Data Gap is a massive turning point in human history, after which life will not be the same for at least half a dozen years (as far as the bots can read out, in other words).  It's enough to have spooked Clif and his commentaries have taken a darker turn.

Certainly, scanning the news headlines this past week would lead one to conclude that such a thing is entirely possible.  Oil and gold prices have shot up, with $6/gallon gasoline a distinct possibility in the States before long.  The saber-rattling over Iran and Syria has significantly ramped up.  The recent US presidential debate took a decidedly nasty turn, though not all that unusual in what passes as public discourse in that country.  The world in general is polarizing  Over all, we can see a fair increase in the amount of tension building at every level.

Whitney Houston died and people got rather testy over who sat where and was allowed in to the memorial service.  Sacha Baron Cohen was banned from the Oscars.  A two-bit actor admitted tooting blow at a White House function.  The Occupiers are threatening armed marches on Wall Street.  Anonymous is making its presence felt at a great number of websites.  Rense and Makow are at each other's throats.  Labor unrest is building in Indonesia.  Greek protests are getting more desperate.  Russia appears to be having some unrest in the ranks.  Germany is dealing with a neo-Nazi dust-up.

Everywhere you look, tensions are building, and this fits quite snugly with Clif's work, which shows a massive build-up to roughly March 1-9, with a blow-off top and roll into release language the likes of which our generation has never witnessed.  One can hardly debate that there are increasingly unsustainable emotional, economic, social, and political bubbles everywhere.  One can imagine them all popping more or less simultaneously, with life-changing consequences.

One thing I've learned about the Web Bots over the years is don't try to come up with a scenario to fit the language.  It is almost always wrong, even though the actual events fit perfectly with what was predicted. 

For example, they predicted a maritime disaster a few years back, and while everyone was watching the shipping lanes, the space shuttle blew up over Texas.  The language had to do with ships and naval terms, which are commonly used in reference to space hardware, as well.

A recent example was language refering to a wreck of the ship of state and hints about Italy.  The cruise ship grounding filled all the descriptors, but folks were watching governments, having wrongly interpreted the variou terms that had come through.

So what will happen in the next couple of weeks.  Well, sorry to disappoint, but as I said, I've given up trying to predict what events will fill the bill.  One thing that can be speculated upon is that the language calls for massive release of tension worldwide involving natural, economic, political, social, and emotional releases.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that global events are ripe for something like this to happen.

Things that are implied by the bots include changes in the seas and coastal areas, events in space, earthquakes, an "Israeli mistake," disease epidemics, and the list goes on.  I give it about a 50-50 chance of being right, first because the bots are as much wrong as right (though in all fairness they get the big stuff right), second because timing is not one of the strong points of the web bots, and third because humans can make choices.

Back in 1998, a rather interesting movie came out called "Sliding Doors," with Gweneth Paltrow.  The premise was that a woman's life splits at a key moment that's as mundane as catching a train.  From there, the story splits and shows the outcomes of both catching and not catching a certain train.

The movie points out both the choices we make, and those made for us.  There are always choices.  Often people allow others to make their choices, because they are too lazy or frightened to make their own.

If we suspect impending disaster, we can choose to prepare or not.  When governments get out of hand, we can choose to resist or not.  When personal relationships become strenuous, we can choose to stay in them or get out.

Too often, we choose the devil we know, or the status quo.  For some reason, people fight change, though it is an intricate part of life in every aspect.  We get comfortable in our routines, no matter how absurd, because we've learned to deal with that particular set of variables.  Something new requires us to learn, adapt and adjust.  Most of us don't like that.

In a week or two, we may find that none of the familiar rules apply any more.  Every aspect of our routines will have changed, regardless of whether the new situation is good, bad or indifferent, and we won't like it.  Those who thrive in this kind of situation are the ones who give up the old way of thinking the fastest and look for new opportunities in the jumble of new variables.

When you think about it, 'preppers' are really those who are working the hardest to maintain the old way of doing things.  Rather than preparing to change, they are preparing to maintain.  This can cause people to be much slower at seeing and seizing new opportunities.

When change of the magnitude predicted by the web bots comes along, nothing of the old way of doing things will help in the new paradigm.  The best way to prepare for this kind of change is to let go and detach from current habits and needs, and start thinking along whole new avenues of possibilities.  Those prepared to let go the fastest and adjust to new currents are the ones most likely to come out on top.

Most important to survival is one's mental state.  Those who fear change have already lost the battle.  It's the normalcy bias that we've discussed at length here at LFS.  Most people will cling to what they know and resist change with all their might until it takes more resources than they have to fight it.  By the time these people give up and go with the flow, those who embraced the change are miles ahead.

Regardless of web bots, it is a foregone conclusion that the world is changing rapidly.  Almost nothing in the current regime can be sustained much longer.  We have built our pyramid upside down, and it won't be long before it teeters over and crushes those who are deperately trying to hold it up.

The true 'preppers' are walking away from this losing battle and looking for fresh direction and an expanded horizon.  We have entered an era of inevitable change, and those who recognize it and go with it first will be the ones who profit first.  The Chinese word for 'disaster' is composed of two characters meaning 'chaos' and 'opportunity'. 

When it all comes crashing down, there are those who lament what has passed, and those who see raw materials for a fresh start.  The first direction leads to death, and the second to life.  Choose a path and start prepping.