End of an era - We have been so successful at improving our material lives, there is little left to hope for, but an awful lot to fear.

Given the limits of our biological nature and our shared environment, it's hard to imagine a future much better than we have already achieved.

Because we have such limited vision beyond our aesthetic desries, we can see many ways things could get worse, but very few ways to get better.

We are approaching the end of our materialism era. We are at the top of the mountain, and everywhere we look is down.

Out sells - Thus bad news out sells good news, so we get more of it. Much more. It's economics 101 or simple positive feedback.

All through our lives the very worst people on the planet are advertised to us in the media as representative of who we are.

Is it any wonder we get to see people, each other, as the problem. We are being trained to see each other as the enemy.

We are being slowly and systematically trained to both fear and hate one another such that we more willingly relinquish power and faith to external authorities.

Religion & the state are promoted as our only saviors.

But without each other, nature would have killed us all long ago, through her diseases, her predators and through our own ignorance. It is we the people, each other and our ancestors, who spread knowledge, security, comfort and hope to each other around the world.

Submissive by nature- We instinctively seek a higher authority we can serve. Whether a mythical god, science, a ruling class or a king. We just want any higher power to believe in, so we don't have to rely on our own mind to work things out.

And this is both rational and wise. Deep down we are fully aware of our own limitations. We seek a wiser source than ourselves to help guide us.

A submissive inner spirit, even if hidden by our ego, is one that suspects that suffering is our natural state. And so we suffer.

Yet fear of suffering can be more paralysing to the spirit than the pain itself. Only from actual pain is the essence of grace to be found. And only from the place of gratitude can the existential bliss of spirit ever be fully known.

Bliss and pain are intertwined spiritually in ways few can imagine.

But to come to terms with suffering requires both courage and wisdom. And so instead, we all huddle around our telescreens in horror. Looking for the scariest, depraved things to self-righteously fear and condemn. Fearing the worst, we seek to know the worst.

Satiation - If you only eat chocolate, you will soon get sated. Neither more nor less chocolate makes you happy. Since chocolate is your favorite food, there is nothing to replace it that's better, yet you still fear its loss.

Chocolate is a metaphor for life.

We are caught in an existential bind. And ironically, it is only our ability to forget that makes this all bearable.

Life is the same. We are sated with comforts, but can no longer feel their effects. They have gradually faded from our view. Food, entertainment, security, warmth.

They all become our new resting standards.

There is little more comfort to hope for, but an awful lot of suffering from their loss to fear.

We look around for scapegoats to blame for the inner dread that we often feel is deep inside.

And where there is demand, the media, organised religion and governments, will be glad to supply.

So we are saturated with emotionally charged stories and imagery. Making ordinary life pale by comparison.

Normal people cannot compete with a media filled with the most beautiful, sensual, and humorous people on the planet. Digitally edited and manipulated for even greater emotional effect. Since our own lives are already so affluent, only impossible beauty can now lure us in. Either that, or exaggerated fears of the future.

Regular life experiences are seen as mundane. As an emotional withdrawal from the high grade 'cocaine' of entertainment.

Dumbing down - A common way to escape this existential angst, is to stop thinking and spend as much time entertained, drunk or stoned as possible. The less you know, the less capable of worrying you become. Only simple immediate threats can scare you into a reflexive emotional response. Maybe to vote. But it's quickly forgotten and back to the anesthetic of the media trance.

Complexity - In the past, everything was either obvious or mysterious, known only to god.

Now, most people are overwhelmed by how much is known, yet to which they are knowingly ignorant.

Almost everything that was attributable to god is now known by some men. But we as individuals become increasingly intimidated by our own ignorance.

Dependency - In the past, we understood everything we needed to know to survive. How to build shelter, grow, prepare and store food, survive the climate and each other etc.

Today, we feel utterly dependent on organised society for our survival. We have a dependency upon forces outside of our control and feel a deep and very natural sense of unease about this.

We simply have to believe in 'the system' otherwise our whole reality would fall apart.

The first step of breaking free is coming to terms with our own capacity to endure suffering.

Hope - The next stage for mankind will be to go beyond manipulating external reality and to instead understand our own minds and discovering how high we can soar.