Collapsing Paradigm; Rising Consciousness

Apr 22, 2025

I remember listening to one of the many candidates as they stumped during the primary season this last year. I listened with a growing sense of dis-ease as they spoke about how obvious were the various solutions for fixing the many ills being discussed. “Just do that … like last time!” I paused and sat with the feeling, asking it what message it had for me that my conscious mind was overlooking.

Finally, I understood. Every “solution” had been tried before. And yet, here we were, still debating the same problems. It hit me—if they’re still discussing the problem, then the so-called solution didn’t actually fix anything. To rephrase completely, she was saying, “We can do this to put a band-aid on the situation long enough that we can kick it down the road for someone else to grapple with again later.”

After seeing this clearly, I realized she was trapped in old thinking. You know the adage—you can’t solve a problem with the same thinking that created it. But that’s the real question, isn’t it? What is this “old thinking,” exactly? What is the deeper assumption that all these surface-level debates are built on?

That’s when I realized: we’re not just dealing with broken policies or bad ideas. We’re dealing with a dying paradigm.

A paradigm is a framework—a hidden set of assumptions that shape how people see the world without even realizing it. And the dominant paradigm that has shaped the Western world for centuries is something so foundational that most people never question it. Heck, many people don’t even realize it.

Materialism.

Materialism as a concept means that matter comes first—that material reality is the foundation, and somehow, when the material components aligned just right, poof—life emerged. Then this life, instead of following all recognized natural laws of entropy, instead builds more and more complexity until eventually, poof again—human consciousness. The paradigm includes ideas like we are all separate and isolated from each other, that with a material world we can do whatever we want and it doesn’t matter—though the irony of that word combination is not lost on me.

So we are in a material-first paradigm, which rose out of the Renaissance and was solidified by the Enlightenment thinkers of the 1600s. Now, I’m not knocking this entirely—after all, I’m really enjoying many aspects of the world that this paradigm created. But this paradigm is dying.

Let me shift gears here a little bit.

Back in college, I took a course that I had no idea was actually a philosophy course because it was called “Metaphysics: The Mind/Body Problem.” Now, I’m a Hermetic metaphysician, and I could not sign up for this class any faster! I quickly learned, though, that I was the only metaphysician there. I asked what the mind/body problem was, and they attempted to explain it, but it was such a foreign idea that it literally did not sink in. I couldn’t, for the life of me, understand what the heck “the problem” was. At all. It was so far outside of my paradigm that the idea itself made no sense.

It wasn’t until 15 years later—fifteen—that I finally understood what they had been trying to say. And then another 10 years before I had the language to fully articulate it. “Oooooh! You think this is a material-first existence, and that consciousness somehow emerged as an accident when the brain got complex enough?” Had I known the language for it back then, I would have followed it up with: “Yeah, that’s a false paradigm.”

Rising Consciousness-First Paradigm

I’ve said many times in this podcast that our Child-mind forms our first blueprint of How The World Works. These early ideas become so foundational that we rarely, if ever, question them again. That is—unless a crisis forces us to. And from that crisis, the Dark Night arises.

In the last post, I talked about the Global Identity Crisis and how all of the other crises we see unfolding—from politics to economics, personal meaning to agriculture, health care to religion, even the global climate—seem disconnected if you haven’t developed the symbolic sight to see deeper. For those who do, or those who’ve listened to my last episode, you know the poly-crisis is not separate. It is all tied together.

The Global Identity Crisis is doing more than just shaking up personal beliefs—it’s dismantling the very foundations of how we define Who We Are and Our Place In The World. But this Great Unmaking isn’t just a cultural shift, a political realignment, or an economic breakdown. It’s much deeper than that. It’s reaching all the way down to the root—the very paradigm that built these systems in the first place. That foundation is nothing short of the paradigm that structured the world as we know it.

Materialism is so deeply ingrained that most people don’t even see it—it’s just the invisible framework of reality they take for granted. If everything we think we know about the Self, the World, Governance, Economy, Education, Science, and Reality itself is built on a Materialist paradigm, and that paradigm collapses…

Then, everything built on top of it begins to shift.

In spiritual circles, they talk about the Great Shift—a transformation of human awareness, a rising of consciousness. But too often, it’s framed as purely a spiritual shift—as if it’s only about inner awakening and personal enlightenment.

But what if the Great Shift is something much bigger? What if it’s not just spiritual—but structural? Systemic? What if it’s the very foundation of our perception of reality itself that’s shifting?

Look around. The world is changing—rapidly. Institutions that have stood for centuries are breaking apart or transforming in ways no one expected. And yet, when people talk about these changes, they treat them as separate trends, as if decentralization in finance has nothing to do with shifts in governance, or as if the explosion of AI isn’t forcing a deeper questions about what intelligence actually is, or the rise of energy medicine is somehow just a random new idea.

But these aren’t separate trends. They are not random events unfolding in isolation. They are all symptoms of the same underlying event—the collapse of Materialism. And with it, the emergence of something new.

What is that something else? I believe it’s a consciousness-first paradigm.

We are reaching a point in our collective growth, our expansion, into which the material-first worldview cannot take us. As a matter of evolution into the next step, we are moving into a consciousness-first paradigm. But if consciousness truly does precede form, then every major system designed under the materialist assumption would have to break down.

And that’s exactly what we’re seeing.

Example One – the shifting Scientific landscape

Where to first? Choices, choices! I’ll only pick a few, and from there, you can use this lens to start examining the other crises for this foundational shake-up and reach your own conclusions.

For this first example, let’s pick on science—because I like science!

The darling of the spiritual community is, of course, quantum physics. And for good reason!

Do you know what “local realism” is? Essentially, it’s the idea that the world around you is fixed and definite—that objects have intrinsic properties that exist whether you observe them or not, and that no influence can travel faster than the speed of light.

When I was a child, I used to run around the corners of grocery store aisles as fast as I could because I wanted to catch what I called “The Builders” before they could finish constructing the aisle ahead of me. I was never fast enough. My mom, of course, thought I was an amusing but strange child.

Then someone told me that the aisles were solid and unchanging—that they were always there, and it was me who wasn’t always there to see them. I took that explanation at face value and, like most kids, let the idea go.

In fact, I had completely forgotten about it … until 2022—when the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for disproving local realism.

Well. Guess I was right after all. I just wasn’t fast enough to catch The Builders in action.

But quantum physics isn’t the only scientific field that leading us to the conclusion that perhaps materialism isn’t really the foundation it was always assumed to be.

Let’s take biology. For the longest time, we were told that life is just chemicals interacting in a mechanistic way—like a machine, no deeper intelligence, no larger awareness. But we’re starting to see that’s… not quite right. The field of epigenetics is showing that our environment, our beliefs, and even our emotions affect gene expression. Some researchers are even exploring how biofields—subtle energy fields around living organisms—play a role in health and consciousness. Let’s not forget, you ARE the placebo!

Then there’s neuroscience. If the brain is just a biological computer, then consciousness should turn off like a light switch when it shuts down. But the study of near-death experiences (NDEs), past-life memories in children, and psi phenomena keeps producing data that shouldn’t be possible if materialism were true. And yet, there’s the evidence.

And of course, medicine. We know the placebo effect works—people literally heal from belief alone—but instead of asking why, mainstream science mostly shrugs and moves on. Meanwhile, entire fields of energy healing and consciousness-based health interventions are showing startling results, yet they get pushed to the side because they don’t fit neatly into the materialist framework.

Even AI research is running into a wall. If materialism were right, then intelligence should be just computation—and we should be able to build a conscious AI simply by making the algorithms complex enough. But no matter how advanced AI gets, it’s still just an imitation. It doesn’t experience. It doesn’t have awareness. It doesn’t have… being.

Across the board, science keeps bumping into the limits of materialism.

So what happens when those limits are no longer ignored?

Enter the Academy for the Advancement of Postmaterialist Sciences (AAPS). This organization was founded by scientists and scholars who recognize that the materialist paradigm is no longer sufficient to explain consciousness, life, and reality itself. Their work is dedicated to exploring:

• Consciousness as fundamental—not a byproduct of the brain.
• Non-local phenomena—studying psi effects, telepathy, and interconnected awareness.
• Healing beyond material mechanisms—exploring energy medicine, mind-body effects, and consciousness-driven biology.
• A bridge between science and spirituality—not through mysticism, but through rigorous scientific inquiry.

And here’s the key point: This shift is already well underway, even if it’s not widely acknowledged yet.

Science isn’t collapsing—it’s expanding. It’s outgrowing materialism the way a tree outgrows its seed. This period of unmaking is the exhale, where we shed what doesn’t serve our growth and expansion in this next upcoming phase. Some are already inhaling, like the AAPS, but others just aren’t there yet.

Example Two – The Systems Shift: From Linear to Emergent

There are so many fields to pick from here, but I’ll take one that’s top of mind because of the political situation here in the United States. There’s a huge amount of fear around the idea that the Department of Education might disappear—as if without it, learning itself would just stop happening. But that’s what we’ve been trained to believe.

But here’s the thing—education isn’t vanishing. It’s evolving.

And not a moment too soon.

The system we have now? It was built in the 1800s—designed for factory workers, not free thinkers. It was modeled after the Prussian school system, which had one job: make people obedient, efficient, and easy to manage. Show up on time. Follow orders. Memorize facts. Regurgitate them on command. Don’t question authority.

That’s not education. That’s programming.

And programming works great—if you want a workforce that doesn’t challenge the system.

But people aren’t cogs in a machine. And that machine? It’s breaking down.

All across the country—and the world—people are walking away from the factory model of education and toward something completely different. But there’s no one new model. There are many.

Why?

Because everyone is unique.

This isn’t just a shift in how schools operate—this is a complete break from the materialist assumptions that built the old system in the first place.

Think about it. The current education model is built on the belief that knowledge is something external, separate from you. It assumes that your mind is just an empty container waiting to be filled—a biological machine that needs programming. If you just stuff enough facts in there, eventually you’ll become an intelligent, functional adult.

That’s the theory, at least.

But that’s a materialist assumption—that intelligence is just data retention and that learning is a mechanical input-output process. That’s why the system is built the way it is.

But if consciousness is primary, if intelligence is not just a byproduct of brain chemistry but something deeper, more fluid, and more interconnected, then that entire model is wrong.

Learning isn’t a mechanical process—it’s an emergent one.

And that’s exactly what the new education models are proving.

Rather than forcing every student into some rigid structure, these models recognize that learning unfolds uniquely for each person. They aren’t about control and standardization—they are about engagement, curiosity, and deep, intuitive knowing.

In a consciousness-first education system:

• Knowledge isn’t something external that you just absorb—it’s something you participate in creating.
• Learning isn’t about rote memorization—it’s about active engagement, insight, and real-world application.
• Intelligence isn’t fixed or measurable by a single score—it’s multidimensional, intuitive, and deeply personal.

This is why unschooling, project-based learning, Montessori, Sudbury, Waldorf, and self-directed education models are thriving. They aren’t just alternative approaches—they are what education looks like when you throw out the materialist assumptions that built the old system.

Education is shifting from a machine-based system to a living, dynamic intelligence field.

And once you see it? There’s no going back.

Example Three – Governance

Oh this’ll be a fun one! I saved it for last, since it’s the biggest. And it’s likely triggering for some. Take a deep breath. Let it out. Hold your center! Let’s go.

Populism is rising. Not just in the United States, but all over the world. People are rejecting the idea that governments should have unchecked power over their lives—but they aren’t necessarily demanding no government. Instead, they’re looking for something different. Something smaller, more adaptive, more intelligent.

For centuries, governance has been built on centralized control—the belief that the bigger the system, the better it functions. The theory goes that if you concentrate power, resources, and decision-making into a massive bureaucracy, you get order, stability, and efficiency.

But in today’s reality? That’s not what happens at all.

The bigger a bureaucracy gets, the more sluggish, inefficient, and out of touch it becomes. The people in charge become so disconnected from real-world needs that the system starts to collapse under its own weight. And when a real crisis hits? The system doesn’t save you.

You save each other.

At the recent ARC Conference, musician Oliver Anthony shared his experience in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. While the devastation was immense, the real story was about how everyday people stepped up when bureaucracies couldn’t.

Official agencies, including FEMA, were slow, ineffective, and out of touch with what was actually needed on the ground. Meanwhile, local volunteers, veterans, and community members took action. People with horses reached stranded families when floodwaters made roads impassable. Small tractors and chainsaws cleared debris before official crews even mobilized. Helicopters, fishing boats, and even homemade rafts ferried supplies to those in need.

This wasn’t about waiting for permission—this was about people doing what needed to be done.

Anthony’s takeaway was this: local intelligence is more effective than centralized control. When disaster strikes, it isn’t bureaucracies who save lives—it’s neighbors helping neighbors. The power to organize, problem-solve, and rebuild doesn’t come from the top down. It rises naturally from the people who are there, in the moment, making real-time decisions based on real needs.

And this isn’t just happening in crisis response—it’s happening in our understanding of the intelligence of the human body itself.

For centuries, governance has mirrored what we thought was the way the human body worked. The brain was king, the command center, the singular source of decision-making that dictated orders to the rest of the body. The brain was the government, and the heart, gut, and immune system? Just obedient workers, carrying out its will.

That’s the exact same model that shaped centralized governance. Of course, the desire for power was certainly part of the paradigm, but the the assumption that order could only exist if a singular intelligence controlled everything from the top was the thought of the day. Without a strong, centralized authority dictating orders, everything would collapse into chaos.

But there’s a problem. That model of the brain? It’s wrong.

New discoveries in neuroscience, cardiology, and gut health have shattered the idea that the brain is the body’s dictator.

We now know that the gut has neurons in its lining which are capable of independent decision-making. We recently discovered that the heart contains sensory cells that regulate stress and coherence without brain input. We know the immune system adapts, fights off threats, and makes decisions without asking permission from the brain. The gut microbiome is an entire community of non-human cells which help our body survive and thrive, each one giving feedback to the systems around them.

It turns out that the brain isn’t a command center—it’s a communication hub. It doesn’t micromanage every detail—it facilitates communication between thousands of interconnected, locally intelligent systems.

This model is actually exactly how I see governance evolving. the top-down heavily centralized control model is outdated and breaking down as we enter the Age of Aquarius. And it was the business world, specifically software, which figured out what I think are the next steps.

If you’ve worked anywhere near software development, you know about Agile. If not, here’s the quick version: Agile is a radically different way of organizing work that rejects top-down, centralized planning in favor of adaptability, local intelligence, and rapid response.

The old model, called Waterfall, worked just like big governments do today—one central authority made all the decisions upfront, and by the time the final product rolled out, the world has already moved on. When I worked as a software tester under the Waterfall model, my company released one product per year. At the time? That was fast.

Now? That speed is laughable.

Agile threw that entire structure out the window. Instead of massive, rigid projects that took a year or more, Agile works in sprints—which are short cycles of rapid iteration, constant feedback, and real-time adaptation. But here’s the key difference: Instead of upper management dictating every decision, Agile empowers small, self-organizing teams to make real-time decisions about execution while staying aligned with the larger vision and goals. The vision still comes from leadership, but the actual work? The decisions about how to achieve those goals? That’s handled at the level where the work is happening.

My husband is a consultant who spent over a decade working with businesses to transition from old to new—a process called Agile Transformation. It didn’t take him long to realize something most companies didn’t understand: This wasn’t just a new way of working. It was a completely different way of thinking.

To actually function, Agile requires a total restructuring of the thought process itself. But far too many companies wanted to cheat the system—they thought they could just plug Agile into their old Waterfall structures and call it a day.

Nope.

For the companies that fully committed, the transformation wasn’t just about their teams working faster. It required complete buy-in at the highest levels. And that meant something most executives weren’t ready for: They had to let go of all control.

It wasn’t about giving orders anymore. It was about trusting the intelligence of the system itself.

And that’s when it clicked for me. This wasn’t just a business model. This is a workable model for governance in general.

Conclusion

In the current paradigm, the universe itself is random, disconnected, and devoid of deeper intelligence. And humans? Just animals—biological machines, driven by self-interest, waiting for the chance to steal and kill if left unchecked. Given that set of foundation assumptions, it of course follows that order must be imposed from the outside. Otherwise, everything falls apart.

What we are learning now is that is not how complex systems are actually structured. Not in nature. Not in biological systems. And the Agile model in business is showing us that maybe real leadership in a human system can be something other than top-down control.

We are watching so many systems – from governance to science to education and well beyond – evolve in real time. As consciousness rises, as the paradigm shift progresses, the need for rigid top-down control is fading—not because of idealism, but because decentralized intelligence is simply more effective.

The world isn’t waiting for permission to change. The shift is already happening, and we’re a part of this giant step up. We were born for this, you might say.

As we stand at the edge of the old world, we have a choice: cling to control, or trust that a higher order is already already emerging, waiting for us to step into it.

TL;DR

We’re not just facing broken systems—we’re witnessing the collapse of materialism itself. A consciousness-first paradigm is emerging, reshaping science, education, governance, and more. This isn’t just a spiritual movement—it’s the architecture of evolution.

About the Image

In 2022, I went on a trip to Peru which included a few days up at Lake Titicaca. On our way back, we stopped at Aramu Muru, aka the Gate of the Gods. I had only ever seen the roughly person shaped T in the rock face, and so the full complex came as a bit of a surprise. The rock face is carved smooth, flanked by these recessed channels that go almost from the top to the platform base. The story of this site is that among the natives, there are stories that this was a gateway that allowed teleportation. That is a paradigm long lost to us, evidence that when cultural paradigms shift some things are lost and others gained. It’s part of the cycle, a wave to be surfed.

Audio

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and more. Like what you hear? Share it and leave a review. It means a lot and I believe that the message of owning ourselves and our potential is what this world needs right now. When we are individually standing in our power, we have the make the real choices which lead to a better world for all. Every review and like helps others to find the message, one more voice asking others to bring forth your light!

Video

Video is also available through the YouTube Channel. The background is a bit more tongue in cheek. I don’t really have a great metaphorical or symbolic video in my library which might work for a paradigm shift, so instead I shifted away from the garden and fishtank motif and into the one video of took of my cat … sleeping. I have a catification wall for him and this hammock and shelf are near the ceiling. It’s not the best videography I’ve done, but it was amusing. Besides, if we can all take changes with the equanimity of this cat dozing then we are doing well!